A total of 94 lives were lost to suicide in 2020.

Of the 94 suicide victims, seven victims were under the age of 16, 21 were between 17 and 25 years. The rest were above the age of 26.

This was revealed by the Ministry of Health and Medical Services, Head of Wellness, Dr Devina Nand during the World Suicide Prevention Day and launch of the Mental Health Month held on Friday, September 10.

Dr Devina said the average number of suicides per year in the country was 103 cases, while the number of attempted suicides on average was 113 cases per year.

Statics by the Fiji Police Force noted that there were 108 cases of attempted suicide recorded last year.

This was in comparison to the statistics from 2019 which recorded 123 suicide cases and 121 attempted suicide cases.

Dr Devina said the ministry had also noted that the commonest frequency was in 15- to 30-year-olds.

She also said that males had more than twice the risk of completing suicides.

She added that the Western Division had the highest suicide cases followed by the Northern  and the Central Division.

Help is Available

Help is available with helplines operating 24/7 for those who needed someone to talk to.

Helplines are: Lifeline Fiji 1543, Telehealth 165, National Domestic Helpline 1560, Child Helpline 1325, Empower Pacific 5626, Medical Services Pacific 5640 and alcoholics anonymous 9392190.