Suicide is both a growing reality and a public health problem in Portugal, Assistant Secretary of State for Health Fernando Leal da Costa has said.

With the latest Pordata suicide figures showing an additional 84 cases in 2010 bringing the total to 1,098 deaths by suicide, Leal da Costa emphasized on Sunday, 8 April, that “suicide is a public healthcare problem in Portugal”.

“We know that for many years, suicide in Portugal, as in other European countries, has been underreported, very often due to circumstances related to some risk of social stigmatisation as well as due to issues related to insurance policies”, the state secretary explained.

Leal da Costa said this was a key dimension to government policy: “We have to have a more precise notion of the reality before being able to combat it”.

Given the growing incidence of suicide, especially among the elderly, the ministries of health and social security have already launched a monitoring plan for that demographic age group with a suicide prevention plan due to be launched by the end of the year to help counter the economic crisis-related forecast rise in mental health problems.

“With the increase in unemployment, increase in situations of greater social, individual and family difficulties, it is possible and foreseeable that this may happen,” accepted Leal da Costa.

The state secretary said this situation only reinforced the importance of the forthcoming suicide prevention plan within the framework of a concerted effort.

While “the ministries of health and social security are attentive and implementing policies (…), society in general has a great deal more to do in this field,” concluded Leal da Costa.