The Chief Psychiatrist at the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Akwasi Osei is pushing for a review of the law criminalising suicide attempts. Dr. Osei says such people are only crying for help and must not be criminalised. Dr. Osei said the act, if decriminalized, will encourage suicide as some believe, but it should be recognized as a medical and social issue requiring a better approach than simply calling it a criminal offence. “The good news is that if we pass the Mental Health Bill, it would effectively have been decriminalized because the bill has a section that says that anybody who attempts suicide should first be assessed clinically before prosecution, in which case for most such persons the underlying mental illness would be found,” he explained. The Chief Psychiatrist made the call at the launch of this year’s World Day against Suicide, which falls on Saturday, 10th September. This year’s event is under the theme: “Preventing Suicide In Multicultural Society”. Dr. Osei said it is not enough to prosecute the person who attempts suicide if the person is found not to have mental illness, since the person may probably have a social reason which needs to be addressed. He also added that “Ghana’s attitude which incriminates these people, fails to address the situation but rather worsens the problem”. According him, all over the world, a person dies of suicide every 40 seconds which calls for the society to embark on a serious public education. Dr. Osei pointed out that 93-95% of all suicides and attempted suicides are from mental disorders, with over 80% of the lot from depression. The Executive Director of Anti-Suicide and Crisis Intervention, Wisdom Mensah Dali, called on the Security Services such as the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), the Ghana Police Service, the Ghana Prison Service, Ghana National Fire Service, among others to decriminalise suicide. “Suicide behaviour is a problem in the Military, although the force is tight-lipped about it. While section 57 clause 2 of 1960 Criminal Code criminalises only attempted suicide, the Ghana Armed Forces has gone a step further to contravene the code by criminalizing completed suicide. The policy dismissing any soldier who attempts suicide and refuses burial and gratuities of the soldier who dies by suicide is archaic and violation of the 1960 criminal code and outright abuse of the fundamental human rights of the victims and their dependents”, he explained. Mr. Mensah Dali, therefore, called on the Ministry of Defense to review the practice. A source at the Ghana Police Service who pleaded anonymity confirmed the existence of a policy in the service which calls for outright dismissal of any officer who engages in any act that will bring the service into disrepute. “As a police officer you have to be responsible by not indulging in any act that will bring disgrace to the service”, the source said. The Ghana Armed Forces declined comment. But the Public Relation Officer of the Ghana Prisons Service, Courage Atsem, told Asempa News that as far the nation frowned on suicide, the Service also frowned on it but the Service will make available all entitlements due relatives of an officer who committed suicide. “The Ghana Prison Service in its history has never experienced such a thing, but you are aware that suicide is something that the Ghanaian society even discourages, and it is also illegal which makes it an offence punishable by law. We as a security organization, if such a thing happens, we will dignify the person by giving him/her a full service burial. We will support the burial activities, but decorating it with our colours that we won’t do it” Mr. Atsem stressed. On the issue of entitlements of the bereaved family, Mr. Atsem said whatever is due to an officer who commits suicide, will be given accordingly.