Minister of Transport and Housing, the Hon. Jobeth Coleby-Davis made her contribution to debate on the Mental Health Bill in the House of Assembly this week. During her presentation she spoke about the number of suicides that have been reported in the country. “Of the eleven suicide incidents recorded in 2018 eight were males and three were females.”
Minister Coleby-Davis went on to say, “twenty eight or 65% of the reported suicide incidents occurred on the island of New Providence, twenty five or 58% of the suicide incidents involved individuals under the age of 50. Females in reported suicide incidents were under the age of 66 with several leaving behind children. A 13 year old male was the youngest reported suicide incident. Twenty eight or 65% of the suicide incidents were recorded in the months of March, April, May, September and December. The month of May reported the highest prevalence of suicide and of the thirty nine reported attempted suicide incidences in 2021 seventeen or 43% percent involved individuals within the age range of 18 to 30.”
The Minister also noted that her views on mental health have changed as she did not see it as a national issue years ago.
