A survey has revealed that over 20% of KwaZulu-Natal youth had suicidal thoughts, a suicide prevention congress heard in Durban on Tuesday.
KwaZulu-Natal education MEC Ina Cronje said the results from the first SA National Youth Risk Behaviour Survey also indicated that ”at a national level 24,6% of learners indicated that they felt so sad or had such hopeless feelings that they wanted to stop living”.
She told delegates at the 23rd World Congress on Suicide that in KwaZulu-Natal one in five pupils have had suicidal thoughts.
”Nineteen percent of our learners considered attempting suicide, 14,2% of those who indicated their feelings of hopelessness actually made a plan to commit suicide. Sadly, 24,6% of those who felt hopeless made a suicide attempt that required medical treatment,” Cronje said.
She said her education department had to take those results into account if it wanted to be the leading department in the country.
KwaZulu-Natal has the biggest number of school-going children in the country with 2 764 435 pupils in 6 014 schools, said Cronje.
”If we apply the statistics to our province, you will agree with me that all our schools accommodate learners who feel sad and hopeless and therefore, need some support and intervention,” she said.
The conference was opened by Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, who said suicide prevention efforts needed a multi-disciplinary approach in order to succeed.
She said the health department had piloted a toll free suicide line and was also ”intervening in dealing with the challenge of drugs and alcohol abuse” by interacting with the department of trade and industry in finalising the regulations on the promotion of alcohol products.
Studies revealed that up to 80% of people who committed suicide had several depressive symptoms, while socio-economic problems, family violence and physical illnesses also added to the problem, said Tshabalala-Msimang. – Sapa