Increased Suicide Rates Among Young Adults in Sub Saharan Africa

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Suicide is a public health problem, every year almost one million people die from suicide; a global mortality rate of 16 per 100 000 or one death every 4 seconds (World Health Organization [WHO], 2011) suicide is among three leading causes of death among those aged 15-44 years in some countries; however, these figures do not include attempts which are up to 20 times more frequent than completed suicide. Suicide worldwide is estimated to represent 1.8% of the total global burden disease in 1998, 2.4% in with market and former socialist economies (WHO, 2011).

Most communities or villages in Sub Saharan Africa view suicide as a taboo, in the North West Region of Cameroon, parts of Gabon and Central African Republic, when suicide occurs on any land it reverts to the community as communal land and managed by the king or chief on their behalf. This overall attitude towards suicide explains why there is a dearth in research on suicide and suicide cases. Generally and compared to other parts of the world sub Saharan African has relatively low suicide rates. The widespread of HIV/AIDS led to psychological stress coming from the stigmatization, isolation, discrimination and lack of family and friend support with the damaging fact that it has no cure. This reality left its victims hopeless and some decided to take the other way out.

The past days have seen a drastic change and a spike in numbers of people dying of suicide mostly in west and central Africa, with Nigeria at the fore front. The fundamentalist Islamic sect of Boko Haram has somewhat established themselves in the region, spreading immoral messages that convince followers to embark on suicide mission for the sake of ‘religion’ or Jihad. The Northern part of Nigeria has suffered above all other regions from these ignorant strikes. Due to how these messages are couched they attract the enthusiastic young adults who have grown up in a harsh unfair world that has left them traumatized and easy to manipulate. Some are forced into such actions by threats to their family or promises of benefits to be given to their families.

The recent report of July 8th 2016 where a suicide bomber killed six people and himself inside a mosque in Bauchi State North East of Nigeria; reports say that the two Bombers tried the larger Damboa central mosque but were stopped by security forces from getting in so one entered a smaller mosque where six people were killed while the other detonated his bomb outside and killed Himself. At this point only the bombers know why they did what they did, and these acts happen more than the local media can cover. These attacks are carried out by young men and young girls. On March 16th 2016 the local Nigerian media reported an incidence that took place in a Mosque near Maiduguri, Borno State Nigeria, where 2 female suicide bombers killed over 20 people. This case is very similar to the July 8th case in Bauchi State, one girl blew herself in the mosque while another blew herself outside the mosque attacking people fleeing the scene. The reports go on incidents go on and on; the sect have successfully spread itself throughout the region and similar attacks have taken place in Chad, Cameroon and Niger. It is also believed that many of the young men and young girls who carry out suicide attacks in Nigeria and neighboring countries do so under compulsion or were manipulated by rulers of sects such as Boko Haram.

This brand of suicide is malicious and evil it has effects on other people who are not ready to die. However, it is universally agreed that stopping such an act is not an easy task, they are not unique to sub Saharan Africa. Boko Haram seems to have economic and political lifeline support within countries like Nigeria. If the Islamic sect and the economic and political life wire are defeated the spirit behind such acts will be defeated as well; even if radical ideas have been planted in the minds of ‘lone wolfs’ (people acting without any sect backing) it will be difficult for them to acquire the equipments to make a bomb capable of killing a lot of people like with the presence of the sect.

In sub Saharan African as in the rest of the world failure is always hard to manage. There are young men and women who decide to ‘end it’ when their career doesn’t go according to plans; it may also happen when an unexpected heartbreak occurs, a sudden financial loss from investment or disappointment so grave that facing the society is the last option. These separate situations are all ingredients behind a young sub Saharan African man or woman’s suicide. Local Cameroonian media reported in August 2015 the case of a young man who took his life after failing his GCE examinations. The young man was distraught by his failure and thought of facing his friends made him choose another route.

Suicide on its own is a major concern but when it involves taking the life of innocent people then an ideological problem is in play and has to be tackled from the roots, sensitization campaigns should be launched. Society should be more accepting of people in chronic health predicaments, and as there is constant preaches and talk about success, failure should not be lambasted as a taboo but as a consequence of life’s struggles, carrying a mentality of hope towards the unknown of tomorrow.

References and links

https://knoema.com/HDR2013/human-development-report-1980-2012?tsId=1222240

http://www.cameroon-one.com/site/news/index.php?op=view&id=142481

http://www.tigweb.org/youth-media/panorama/article.html?ContentID=7573

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_suicide_rate

http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/94/5/15-163295/en/

https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Increasing+Suicide+Rates+Among+Young+Adults+in+Sub-Saharan+Africa&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi6hdSFi-TNAhVCVRoKHbpmAzMQgQMIGDAA

http://www.avert.org/professionals/hiv-social-issues/stigma-discrimination

http://www.unaids.org/en/resources/documents/2014/ReductionofHIV-relatedstigmaanddiscrimination

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Ernie J. Burgher is a bi-lingual freelance journalist and author, and speaks English and French. Ernie writes for SitiTalkBlog.

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