Deliver Services to those who need it. Where they are.
I write with a trembling heart to confront the silent agony tearing through our nation: suicide.
In 2019, the suicide rate stood at 2.7 per 100,000 (WHO), with 15 lives lost in 2020. These numbers, though modest, shatter families and haunt our close-knit islands. Each death is a wound to our collective soul, a cry for help we failed to answer. Behind the Maldives’ postcard-perfect shores, lies a crisis that demands urgent action.
Men die by suicide at higher rates (3.0 per 100,000 in 2016), while women bear the weight of non-fatal attempts. Adolescents, crushed by academic pressure, and the elderly, isolated by loneliness, are slipping through the cracks. In remote islands, where mental health services are nearly nonexistent, despair festers unchecked. Migrant workers face unbearable stigma and discrimination, their pain hidden by a society bound by taboos. Depression, linked to 90% of suicides globally, thrives where silence prevails
One in five Maldivians grapples with mental health challenges, according to Aishath Samiya, Permanent Secretary, of the Ministry of Health. Yet, stigma, underreporting, and resource shortages: especially in far fetched areas, leave countless stranded.
Our leaders and professionals have to act with urgency. Foster trust in systems that support suicide prevention. Put resources into telehealth and mobile clinics that bring care to those in need, rather than forcing the desperate to have to plead for it. We also need to launch bold awareness campaigns in schools and workplaces to dismantle stigma. And ensure inclusive support for marginalized groups. This is a moral emergency; every delay risk.
We have to make mental health a priority. Deliver services that reach people where they are.
The 1677 National Mental Health Helpline (24/7) and 1484 Psychological First Aid Helpline (3–9 PM, except Fridays) are lifelines. Call them. Together, we can ensure no one faces despair alone.
Smile and Let Smile 