Accra, Sept. 10, GNA - Dr Akwesi Osei, Chief Psychiatrist, has called= on government to find a better approach to solve the causes of attempted suicide, a medical and social problem, rather than criminalizing offenders.

"We are not encouraging suicide but it should be recognised as a medical and social issue that requires a better approach than simply calling it a criminal offence," he added.

Dr Osei made the call at the launch of World Suicide Prevention Day in Accra. It is celebrated annually on September 10. He urged government to expunge that clause on the criminalization of

suicide from the code, and accelerate the passage of the Mental Health Bill that had a section that required clinical examination for people who attempted suicide before prosecution, to find the underlying mental problem leading to such an act.

Dr Osei who is also the Chief Executive Officer of Accra Psychiatric Hospital, noted that every 40 seconds someone died from suicide in the world compared to tobacco use where a person dies every 65 seconds.

"Although we do not have exact statistics of the rate of suicide for Ghana, it is not as great as in the developed world," he said.

He intimated that about 93-95 per cent of all attempted suicides and suicide cases were from mental disorders with depression forming about 80 per cent.

Dr Osei cited abuse of alcohol and other drugs such as marijuana, cocaine and heroin as some of the other mental causes of suicide and attempted suicide.

He mentioned acute stress reaction and post traumatic stress disorder as other causes of suicide and attempted suicide.

He explained that in acute stress reaction, an individual encounters a situation so traumatising psychologically that his or her judgment is impaired and on the spur of the moment may resort to suicide as a way out.

This could be an embarrassing situation of any kind.

In post traumatic stress disorder, the person would encounter a potentially fatal situation and is reminded of the horror scene anytime the thought occurs to him hence the decision to end it all, he added.

Dr Osei said other causes of suicide not related to mental illness included religious and political reasons such as suicide bombing and mass suicide.

He pointed out that men often took drastic and lethal measures such as hanging themselves, gunning themselves down or falling from heights when they wanted to commit suicide.

"Women on the other hand use strategies that are drastic such as swallowing sleeping tablets or overdose of drugs, take DDT and rat poison". Dr Osei explained that women used attempted suicide to settle scores, draw attention to their plight or take the decision on the spur of the moment without actually meaning to die.

He called for the release of Mr Kwadwo Ababio, being jailed for attempted suicide due to mental health.

Mr Ababio, a farmer from Akrofoumi in the Ashanti Region attempted suicide sometime this year because he felt the people did not like him. Mr Wisdom Mensah Dali, Executive Director, Network for Anti-Suicide and Crisis Intervention (NACI), urged the Ghana Armed Forces to review its policy whereby officers who allegedly commit suicide were refused burial and their families denied gratuities.