The World Health Organization recognizes the month of September as the suicide prevention month; this has been in place since 2003. It is meant to raise awareness on the suicide level in the society, raise awareness on prevention, and  to preach against stigmatization of families of suicide victims and those who attempted suicide.
While the suicide rates in developing countries may not be known, the United States’ Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says the suicide rate in the U.S.A. is about 12.6 per 100,000 persons, a rate that has been on the increase.
Those affected are mainly adults in working age bracket (18-64 years) which has implications on the ‘lost life years’, direct costs (medicare for unsuccessful suicides) and indirect cost ( lost productivity and lost earnings). According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, about 14 billion USD is lost annually to suicide.
The foundation believes suicide should be given attention just as cancer and heart disease as it is a mental illness.
From the above, the position of WHO in declaring a month for the awareness on suicide is not ill-placed as suicide negatively affects the economy of a country.

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