Posted Date: 17th Sep 2012
Building on the 2002 suicide prevention strategy, the newly-launched strategy - 'Preventing suicide in England: A cross-government outcomes strategy to save lives' aims to bring together differnt actors and departments to ensure a coherent response to suicide. The strategy identifies 'Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups and asylum seekers' as a group for whom a tailored approach to suicide prevention is needed, including a welcome recognition that:
"Community initiatives can be effective in bridging the gap between statutory services and Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, and in tackling inequalities in health and access to services."
The strategy also recognises the particular mental health needs of migratns and asylum seekers.
The scale of suicide as a problem for black and other ethnic communities is difficult to assess, as the strategy acknowledges - because ethnicity data is not collected through death registration or inquest processes. Improving this data collection is essential to reducing the impact of suicide in African communities.