Light a candle for World Suicide Prevention Day

MANILA, Philippines -  The Philippine Psychiatric Association (PPA) and the Natasha Goulbourn Foundation (NGF) invite the public to observe World Suicide Prevention (SuPre) Day this Sept. 10 as recognized by the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The activities will center primarily on inviting everyone you know to light a candle by the window at 8 p.m. on Sept. 10 to support suicide prevention, and remember a lost loved one and suicide survivors. By lighting a candle at 8 p.m., the public will be encouraged to recognize that suicide is preventable, and that it should not be kept secret. Suicide claims around one million people every year, or around one life lost every 40 seconds. Depression remains one of the leading causes of suicide, and the number of incidences is increasing at such a rate that the WHO predicts that by 2020, depression will be the 2nd disabling disease worldwide.  

This Philippines was one of the first Southeast Asian countries to join with the IASP to honor World SuPre Day. This will be the third year of observance. In order to accomplish this properly, participants are encouraged to let their local schools, churches and parishes know about this activity and by logging on to www.iasp.info to download the brochure and posters (both in English and Filipino) that they can print and post on the bulletin boards.

During the observance, participants can take a creative picture of their candle by the window and post in on their Facebook page or tweet it in their Twitter account! Should they wish to have it posted internationally, they may also post it on the IASP and NGF Facebook page, or they may send to [email protected]. Participants can also register in the website to receive a certificate of participation from the IASP.

For more information on this activity, or on other information on depression, please contact Natasha Goulbourn Foundation at (02) 897.2217, 896.2068 or at [email protected]