The passage of the Suicide Prevention Bill in the National Assembly on Monday now means that attempted suicide is no longer a criminal offence and it lays the foundation for the establishment of the National Suicide Prevention Commission.
The bill is seen as a major win for Guyana’s mental health services and it is the hope of the Ministry of Health that it becomes a model law for the Caribbean. Further, a wide range of measures have been included in the bill to counter the high number of suicides in the country.
Guyana, for many years, has topped the charts for the number of suicides per capita and according to the government, the bill is seeking to provide measures to fight what is considered an exceptionally high number of suicides and attempts.
