Maputo — Maputo, 25 Out (AIM) - The Maputo Central Hospital (HCM), the largest health unit in Mozambique, is concerned with increasing number of suicides and attempted suicides across the country, particularly among children and adolescents.

This concern was expressed in Maputo, on Monday, by the Emergency and Paediatrics' Service Director, Otília Gonçalves, at a press conference in Maputo.

In Mozambique, the annual number of attempted suicide recorded by health authorities jumped from 263 cases in 2014 to reach 6,500 in 2020.

Of the 11 provinces, the Mozambican capital Maputo recorded the largest increase, from 1126 cases in 2019 to 1,937 cases in 2020, which is a 72 per cent increase.

According to Gonçalves, the number of attempted suicides is worrisome taking into account that only a fraction is recorded by the national health system.

"In the last month alone, we reported three cases of attempted suicides of both children and adolescents, all of them from the age group 12 and 16 years, due to family problems", she revealed.

Gonçalves believes that nothing justifies people taking their own lives, therefore she advocates greater dialogue within the family and social circles.

In 2015, the government approved the National Suicide Prevention Plan to promote awareness about the importance of mental health in the country.

Unfortunately, it is still incipient and a considerable number of people only seek medical help in extreme cases, especially in rural areas.

The latest World Health Organization (WHO) report, dated 2016, puts Mozambique with a rate of 4.9 suicides per 100,000 inhabitants.