Citation

Khan AR, Arendse N, Ratele K. Asian Soc. Work Policy Rev. 2021; 15(1): 15-23.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/aswp.12214

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Despite the World Health Organization's (WHO) call to adopt a national action plan on suicide, Bangladesh is yet to respond proactively to prevent this serious public health problem. The existing government and non-government prevention interventions are very limited, segmented and almost invisible. Suicide (including attempted suicide) is currently a criminal offense under the Bangladeshi legal framework. The aim of this paper is to propose a framing toward a national suicide prevention action plan in Bangladesh based on a situational analysis of local existing suicide prevention interventions. International policy documents, empirical and review works, and legal documents that speak to suicide interventions were reviewed. Critical analysis of these interventions suggests that Bangladesh should prioritize the adoption of a multi-sectoral suicide prevention action plan. The issue of decriminalization suicide should be carefully considered and policies harmonized before adopting the plan. Obtaining commitment from the policymakers to launch such intervention may be challenging. Considering the seriousness of the problem, Bangladeshi policymakers should be proactive in adopting a suicide prevention action plan. Neighboring countries provide useful lessons of the implementation measures that may assist with developing a suicide prevention action plan. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd

Language: en

Keywords

suicide prevention; Bangladesh; national multisectoral action plan; policymakers