Suicide cases among refugees on rise - UNHCR

The number of refugees committing suicide has increased, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) dashboard.

The UNHCR dashboard states that suicide cases increased from 151 in 2019 to 238 this year.

Kyangwaali, Chaka and Bididi refugee settlements record the highest cases of suicide and this is attributed to refugees who come from DR Congo.

"There are peculiar push factors which compel people to leave their homes in DR Congo and when they come here, they continue in a trauma situation," Patrick Sambaga, the country director TPO Uganda, a human rights non-governmental organisation, said.

Sambaga made the remarks during the 16th annual counsellors' conference at Silver Springs Hotel in Kampala on Thursday.

 He added that many refugees experience diffi cult situations and suffer mental health and psychosocial issues.

Effects of covid-19

Sambaga said the COVID-19 situation has also exposed refugees to several behaviours, including crime, drug abuse, early marriages, and sexual and gender-based violence.

This has also contributed to the increase in suicide attempts among the group.

Sambaga cited his cousin who committed suicide and said his  actions were due to lack of counsellors in communities. He observed the need to have a clinical psychologist at the community level to help such people.

"We need to have clinical psychologists at every health centre 111 and IV to support people with mental health challenges," he said.

Sambaga also called for the review of the policy on suicide to ensure counselling for survivors, instead of criminalising them with attempted murder.

Prioritise counselling

Dr Charles Olara, the director of health services curative at the health ministry, said they are considering integrating professional counsellors into the health sector service delivery. "We recognise that counsellors are important in health service delivery.

We are, therefore, working with the Ministry of Public Service to restructure both the lower and central local government health facilities," he explained. Olara said previously, they have been engaging nurses and midwives to do counselling, yet they are also constrained in their core functions.

"This is one of the areas which we should exploit so that the facilities and communities can be able to access these services and mitigate challenges of mental health," he said.

He also noted that since the country has been training counsellors, there is a need to employ them under the public service to help in handling mental health care.

Olara said the ministry will also consider employing about 1,000 professional counsellors countrywide.

Gastone Byamugisha, the president of the Uganda Counsellors Association, said: "We are happy that the Government has now thought of recognising us for employment under the Public Service structure, hopefully, this will help in mitigating the effects of forced migration and mental health problems."

Devota Nuwe, the head of programmes at the Refugee Law Project, observed the need to offer psychosocial support to survivors of suicide.

Statistics

The World Health Organisation (WHO) indicates that close to 800,000 deaths resulting from suicide are recorded every year globally. Suicide is rated as the second leading cause of death globally among young people aged between 15 and 29, with 79% of these coming from low and middle-income countries. Uganda takes the 68th position in terms of suicide prevalence at 9.9%, according to the WHO estimates 2018.