Live life: An implementation guide for suicide prevention in countries. Executive Summary

Over 700 000 people lose their life to suicide every year. Reducing the global suicide mortality rate by one third by 2030 is both an indicator and a target (the only one for mental health) in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and in WHO’s Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan  2013–2030. WHO’s 13th General Programme of Work 2019–2023 includes the same indicator with a reduction of 15% by 2023. The world is not on track to reach the 2030 suicide reduction targets. WHO advocates for countries to take action to prevent suicide, ideally through a comprehensive national suicide  prevention strategy. Governments and communities can contribute to suicide prevention by implementing LIVE LIFE –WHO’s approach to starting suicide prevention so that countries can build on it further to develop a comprehensive national suicide prevention strategy. The guide is for all countries, with
or without a national suicide prevention strategy at present.