She chugged down a chemical solution among other things to truncate her life from her overwhelming academic load and inferiority complex.

The most soothing solution out for the 23-year-old medical student of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology was to commit suicide, but on all seven attempts, somehow, she survived seven suicidal attempts.

She recounts how it all started and her survival story with Emmanuel Bright Quaicoe as Ghana joined the World to mark Suicide Prevention Day in Kumasi.

It all began when she moved from her preclinical studies to the more demanding clinical years at medical school.

The feeling of inferiority and the overwhelming academic workload nearly pushed Yaa Mansa, as I choose to call her, to end it all.

“I didn’t see the good in me. I didn’t see my worth so I said why don’t I just end it. School was quite competitive. I wasn’t doing well and people were going far ahead of me. I kept harbouring the feeling that I was never going to make it. And that forced me to attempt suicide,” she said.

Her's was to make people within her circle understand the troubles she endured.

“At that point I just wanted everything to end, I wanted to harm myself also so that people would see that what I was going through was more painful than they are seeing and at the same time, after letting them see that, I also wanted to end things and be free cos I was going through too much,” she said.

Her story mirrors that of many victims of suicide attempts across the country, especially tertiary students.

In the last two months, at least two cases of suicide attempts in public universities have emerged on social media, with the latest involving a student of KNUST.

In a video, the victim was seen attempting to jump off the balcony of a hostel for unknown reasons but was swiftly saved by his mates.

Their stories are two of the 614 attempted suicide cases recorded in Ghana in the last seven months.

Reports from the Ghana Health Service suggest that 48 lives have so far been lost to suicide in 2023, with the youth forming majority of the numbers.

At the 2023 commemoration of World Suicide Prevention Day, the Chief Executive of the Mental Health Authority, Professor Pinamang Appau was worried about the increasing trend of suicide deaths.

“At first, it was the older people who died by suicide. But now we are having people between the ages of 29 and 15 attempting suicide, and these are the age groups that people are strong and they represent the future of the country. But the numbers are increasing now. We must be worried,” she said.

Low self-esteem, guilt, pessimism and behavioural changes are a few of the warning signs of suicide.

As the fourth leading cause of death, suicide remains a global health concern, claiming more than 800,000 lives annually worldwide.

President of the Psychiatric Association of Ghana, Dr. Ruth Antwi is advising the public to be empathic and open to people with underlying mental health issues.

“People who attempt suicide have underlying mental health problems. Out of the 800,000 people that die from suicide globally, 77% of them come from the low and middle income countries like Ghana. We need to pay more attention and must be caring and open. When you realise that someone is withdrawn, you must get closer to them and speak with them. Be empathic with people having mental health issues,” she said.

Seeking mental health support is however plaqued with a myriad of resource deficits affecting patient care.

Yaa Mansah says the inadequate human resources and infrastructure stifle access to confidential care.

“Because of the small space at the department, you have one doctor, one patient here and right beside you, another person. So, there is no much confidentiality. A patient cannot share what they are going through. And it will really help if the medication is always available and is also subsidised. The drugs are really expensive,” she added.

Mental Health stakeholders want infrastructural establishments expedited to enhance medical care to patients.

“Thankfully, KATH is having some expansion works ongoing. We’d have seven consulting rooms after it's done. But we’d ask that the contractor fast-tracks the completion so we can work effectively,” she called out.

With the country seeing a significant increase in its suicide death cases, Ashanti Regional Director of Ghana Health Service, Dr. Emmanuel Kojo Tinkorang is advocating a collective effort to fight the canker.

“Mental Health cannot work alone. The traditional council also cannot work alone. We must all work collectively to end this menace. Suicide is unacceptable,” he said.

For the many Ghanaian youth contemplating suicide, Yaa Mansa has a message for you.

“Tomorrow has a higher chance of being better than today. But how will we know if we don’t live to find out. Right now I feel much better,” she advised.

The 2023 World Suicide Prevention Day was on the theme “Creating Hope Through Action”.