Dr Qi Xiaoqiu,
Dr Liang Wan nian,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am very pleased to join you today on behalf of the World Health Organization. Please allow me to express my gratitude to the Beijing Hui Long Guan Hospital Suicide Prevention Centre, China Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Ministry of Health for the effort they have put into organizing this important meeting. They have shown great vision and efforts in dealing with this important and sensitive issue of suicide.
It has been estimated that there are about 200,000 deaths due to suicide every year in China, that is, approximately 20 deaths every hour. It has also been estimated that at least 60% of these deaths are due to poisoning with pesticides. In other words, in China, more than 100,000 people die every year from intentional or accidental intoxication with pesticides. These figures cannot be ignored nor remain without an appropriate response.
In recent years the number of suicidal deaths from personal and family tragedies has grown and become one of the leading public health problems in many countries in the world. It involves not only deaths, but also the morbidity and disability associated with other suicidal behaviours, such as suicide attempts, and reaches a burden of disease with a considerable impact in many nations' economies. In addition, it affects surviving family members for a lifetime.
And yet, a large proportion of those deaths, disability and suffering could be prevented or avoided. Experts believe that in countries with large rural populations and with a widespread and unchecked use of pesticides, such as is the case in China, a reduction of 30% to 50% could be achieved.
Like many other problems of public health importance, suicide prevention is a complex task, which can be greatly reduced through the effective involvement of different sectors of government and of society. The health sector plays an important role, but recent reviews and analysis of the most successful national suicide prevention programmes have indicated that a decisive multisectoral action is the key to success.
Easy access to pesticide has resulted in relative high success rates of suicide in China. It is clear that the involvement of the agricultural sector is fundamental to tackle the issue of availability of pesticide. Also, given the high female suicide rates in rural China, the participation of the All China Women's Federation is clearly crucial, in this respect.
Clearly, the problem has been identified. The next step is to identify which actions need to be taken and who are the main partners in designing a national strategy for the prevention suicidal behaviours. In order to ensure real ownership of all stakeholders, a process to raise awareness about the required actions is needed.
This conference is a sound start to raise this awareness, agree on the next steps, and the development of a national suicide prevention plan. WHO is pleased to having been invited to be part of it and looks forward to your deliberations and conclusions. There are thousands of lives to be saved and we are eager to learn what your next steps are and how we as WHO can contribute.
Thank you and I wish you a very fruitful meeting.