With this background, he indicated that he is working on the draft Organic Law on the Suicide Prevention System.
Guillermo Bastidas, an expert in neuroscience and mental health, pointed out that Covid19 has exposed the psychological vulnerability of society and the Ecuadorian State has done nothing.
The Organic Health Code is still repressed and also there is no coherent Health Plan. There is a patch with holes that are being corrected according to the problems that arise, said the expert.
He explained that the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2016 reported that one person commits suicide in the world every 40 seconds and 219 people are immersed in a process of suicide risk.
“In Ecuador from 2014 to 2019 there were 5,300 suicides, which gives an approximate average of 2 to 3 suicides per day.”
He explained that the age ranges for suicide are no longer only from 15 to 19 years old, but are now also registered at ages 5, 7, 9 and 10:
“The last case was of a granny in poor health who murdered her granddaughters and then she committed suicide.”
On this basis, she indicated that a draft Organic Law of the Suicide Prevention System has been prepared, so that the Health Centers work on these cases.
“The law includes elements such as the obligation to declare mental health and suicide as a health emergency. This, so that the Ministry of Health organizes, plans and determines the respective steps to face this situation in the sanitary emergency ”.
He also indicated the need for schools to create departments where screening tests are carried out to determine suicide risks:
“That goes along with the regulation and handling of information in the media, because people who commit suicide are on the front page.”
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