Bridging Policy and Research for Suicide Prevention in the Americas: A Joint PAHO/NIMH Symposium on Suicide Prevention

Forging Connections

Bridging Policy and Research for Suicide Prevention in the Americas: 

A Joint PAHO/NIMH Symposium on Suicide Prevention

13 - 14 June 2024

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the National Institute of Mental Health are organizing a two-day Symposium on suicide prevention, a key priority of the Americas' public health agenda. The Symposium will provide an opportunity for countries in the Region and relevant actors to discuss advances and gaps in suicide research, evidence-based interventions, and how to strengthen links between research and policy for suicide prevention. 

The Symposium will include panel discussions and plenary sessions led by international experts in the fields of mental health and suicide prevention. It will be livestreamed with simultaneous translation in English and Spanish.

Objectives:

1. To discuss the current state of knowledge on suicide risk and prevention, evidence-based prevention strategies, and optimal service delivery approaches;
2. To share national experiences on implementing evidence-based suicide prevention strategies;
3. To foster multisectoral collaboration between governments, academic institutions, and civil society to promote strategies to prevent self-harm and suicide, and
4. To discuss suicide prevention priorities for the Region.

 How to participate

• DATE: Thursday 13 and Friday 14, June, 2024
• TIME: 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. (EDT) [check the local time in other cities at the end of this page]
• LANGUAGES: English and Spanish with simultaneous translation.

LIVESTREAM: 

• DAY 1: https://youtube.com/live/qQPUC-RU4Qs?feature=share 
• DAY 2: https://youtube.com/live/bOO8DRVaR_A?feature=share 

 Agenda

 Context

Suicide is a major public health concern in the Region of the Americas. Over 93,000 people in the Region of the Americas died by suicide annually between 2015 and 2019, representing an age-standardized rate of 9.0 per 100,000 population and equivalent to 432.3 years of life lost (YLLs) per 100,000 population. Every case of suicide is a tragedy that severely impacts not only individuals but also families and communities.
 
While suicide mortality rates have decreased globally by 36% (between 2000 and 2019), these rates increased in the Region of the Americas by 17% during the same period. The overall suicide rate in the Region is also believed to be an underestimate due to the absence of population-level monitoring and reporting in many countries.
 
Addressing the suicide crisis in our Region will require accelerated and coordinated actions and interventions by countries and strategic partners. Population-level monitoring of suicide prevention indicators is urgently needed to allow countries to make evidence-informed decisions regarding suicide based on a comprehensive understanding of underlying drivers in order to address risk factors for suicide and self-harm and strengthen the implementation of national suicide prevention policies and plans of action. Research must also inform the epidemiology of suicide in the Region and identify evidence-based interventions that could contribute to reducing regional suicide rates.
 
Considering the extraordinary and unprecedented circumstances presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on known risk factors for suicide, focusing on suicide prevention becomes especially important in supporting Member States to build social connections, raise awareness, and provide hope.
 
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) continues to work with the Member States and stakeholders to reduce suicide rates in the Americas and achieve global and regional targets, including United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Target 3.4, which aims to reduce premature mortality by one-third by 2030 through prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases and the promotion of mental health and well-being.
 
The PAHO High-Level Commission on Mental Health and COVID-19 outlined suicide prevention as one of its ten priority areas to advance mental health in the Region of the Americas. This topic was reiterated in the PAHO Strategy for Improving Mental Health and Suicide Prevention in the Region of the Americas, approved by the 60^th PAHO Directing Council in September 2023.
 
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Center for Global Mental Health Research (CGMHR) supports mental health research in low-resource settings in order to accelerate and enrich scientific advancements while helping to reduce mental health disparities globally and domestically. Guided by NIMH’s suicide prevention research priorities, the CGMHR is expanding investment in global suicide prevention research, as noted in the recently launched Suicide Prevention Program, “Suicide Prevention Across the Lifespan in Low-and Middle-Income Countries”.

 Time in other cities

• 5:30 a.m. – Los Angeles, Vancouver.
• 6:30 a.m. -  Belmopan, Guatemala City, Managua, Mexico City, San Jose (CR), San Salvador,  Tegucigalpa,
• 7:30 a.m. – Bogota, Kingston, Lima, Panama City,  Quito
• 8:30 a.m.  – Asunción, Bridgetown, Caracas, Georgetown, Havana, La Paz, Port of Spain, Port-au-Prince, Nassau, Ottawa, Santiago, San Juan, Santo Domingo, Washington D.C.
• 9: 30 a.m. -  Buenos Aires, Brasilia, Montevideo, Paramaribo.
• 2:30 p.m. – Geneva, Madrid.

For other cities, check the local time using the following link.