Government on Thursday used its parliamentary majority to vote down an opposition motion calling for greater measures to address suicide, including decriminalisation, with its speakers arguing that the manner in which it was framed both politicised and trivialised the problem.
The motion, which was tabled by PPP/C Member of Parliament Dr Vindhya Persaud, called for several interventions by government and, in particular, the Public Health Ministry, including the review and amending of legislation to decriminalise suicide; the implementation of the 2014 Mental Health Strategic Plan and the National Suicide Prevention Plan 2015 – 2020, which were crafted under the former PPP/C government; the allocation of funds to provide the infrastructure needed to treat mental health and suicide as a national priority; and the resuscitation of the National Suicide Prevention and Control Committee to update the National Strategy to Prevent and Control Suicide within three months of its appointment and lead a national education and awareness campaign to help individuals and their families and make recommendations to government.