Capacity Building: A crucial element in suicide prevention among youth

The importance of capacity building in empowering key stakeholders on youth suicide prevention, suicide risk management and support was the main focus of the message of the Minister of Gender Equality, Child Development and Family Welfare, and Minister of Social Security, National Solidarity and Reform Institutions, Mrs Fazila Jeewa-Daureeawoo, this morning.

The Minister was addressing officers of the Child Development Unit (CDU) attending a two-day training on Suicide prevention among children being held at the National Women Development Centre in Phoenix. The training which is being conducted in two batches is organised at the initiative of the Ministry of Gender Equality, Child Development and Family Welfare in collaboration with the Life Plus Unit of the Ministry of Social Security, National Solidarity and Reform Institutions. It targets some 80 CDU Officers who provide protection services to victims of violence, abuse and neglect.

“You need to have the necessary training to reach out to children in distress and to provide them with the support and advice that will put them on the path to recovery,” said the Minister. She stressed on the necessity to know the proper approach to talk to the young whom they meet in their line of duty and to detect the signs of despair and suicidal attempts.

Commending the CDU officers who are committed to combating distress and despair among children in Mauritius, Mrs Jeewa-Daureeawoo considers them hope givers. As they are daily confronted with fragile children, CDU officers should know the way to take care of these children. “It is important that you understand that you are here to provide a helping hand, to listen to the children and provide whatever support is needed,” she stated. The Minister recalled that through the capacity building programme, the officers will be trained to promote resilience and to encourage children to develop coping strategies, and recognise when professional help is required.

The Strategic Action Plan on Suicide Prevention 2016-2020 rolled out by the Ministry aims at reducing suicide and the associated sufferings through short-, medium-, and long-term measures to prevent suicidal tendencies, she added. The measures are in line with the recommendations of the Study on the Causes and Consequences of Suicidal Behaviour among Teenagers in Mauritius, carried out by the Mauritius Research Council.

According to the Minister, the test for society will be the extent to which the implementation of the plan nurtures a culture in which people in distress are encouraged not to feel inadequate and to realise that mental health can be recovered after it has been lost.  “Like many dimensions of human life, suicide remains a challenge for the social science and a challenge for social solidarity. Every life loss must be a serious concern to all of us,” she said.