World Suicide Prevention Day 2024: Mijas demonstrates its commitment to help the cause

In order to mark World Suicide Prevention Day this 10 September, a manifesto was read outside Mijas town hall today (Tuesday) in which the municipality demonstrated its commitment to the fight against this public health issue. The declaration was read by José Luis Torrecilla, a user of the Costa del Sol association for relatives of and people with mental illness (Afesol), and had the support of all political groups.

The text stated that suicide is a major public health problem with far-reaching social, emotional and economic consequences. It also urges the regional and central governments to allocate more resources to guarantee early diagnosis, dignified care and rapid and quality intervention of people with mental health problems.

The main aim of the manifesto is to focus attention on suicide prevention by investing in the community, since "suicide prevention must be aimed at the entire population through awareness-raising actions on the warning signs, risk factors and myths surrounding suicide, because information and knowledge can save lives”.

In 2023, according to provisional data published by the national institute of statistics (INE), there were 3,952 deaths by suicide in Spain, being one of the main causes of unnatural deaths. In addition to deaths by suicide, suicidal attempts and ideation must be added.

According to the manifesto, Mijas is aware that "community involvement and commitment is necessary for this problem to become more visible and to be able to advance in the understanding and prevention of suicidal behaviour".

It is for this reason that the council provides a suicidal behaviour programme run by professionals from several municipal departments, along with the Local Police and Afesol.

The town’s mayor, Ana Mata, said Mijas has become a benchmark in the prevention of suicidal behaviour and mental health, as “evidenced by the awards received by the FEMP federation in 2023”. The programme was developed in November 2022 and includes training workshops aimed at parents to promote the psychological, emotional and social well-being of their children.

Mata stressed the need for the whole of society to work together to promote good mental health and end stigmas. "Mijas is going to use all the necessary tools for prevention, always supporting people so that they do not feel alone and helpless. We can all be susceptible to situations in which mental health fails us. The involvement of families and education are fundamental. We must be very aware of our young people, and of the population in general," she said.

The president of Afesol Costa del Sol, Cristian González, explained that this year it is working on suicide prevention under the initiative Changing the Narrative, since today "there are many myths about suicide and it is something that must be addressed in a clear and comprehensive way, so we need more resources."