Lives within reach: Suicide prevention in the Eastern Mediterranean Region

Every year, more than 720 000 people die by suicide globally-the vast majority in low- and middle-income countries. In the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR), over 27 000 lives were lost to suicide in 2021 alone. Seventy-one percent were male and nearly half were under the age of 30 years (2). Suicide remains the third leading cause of death among adolescents aged 15-19 years, and while rates have declined over 2 decades, the region is not yet on track to meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of one-third reduction by 2030. Behind every figure is a family shattered, a community diminished. These deaths are not inevitable- they are preventable.