Suicide prevention plan to target all ages

New Zealand's suicide prevention strategy will be extended from its present focus on young people to cover everybody, in an attempt to reduce the high suicide rate.

Associate Minister of Health Jim Anderton yesterday released the draft strategy, the country's first plan to prevent suicide in all age groups.

Since 1998 New Zealand has had a strategy to combat the high rate of suicide among 15- to 24-year-olds.

But statistics show that 80 per cent of people who kill themselves in New Zealand are aged 25 and older, prompting the Government to broaden its approach.

Mr Anderton said the country's suicide rate had dropped 25 per cent since 1998, but New Zealand still had one of the highest rates in the developed world.

In 2002, the latest figures available, 460 people committed suicide - more than the road toll that year (405).

A further 5000 people were hospitalised after attempting to kill themselves.

"While the reasons people take their lives are many and complex," Mr Anderton said, "the goal for which we are aiming is simple: we want to reduce our country's rate of suicide to a level comparable with the lowest rates of suicide in other OECD countries."

Mr Anderton said more than 90 per cent of people who committed suicide suffered from depression.

He plans to make a pre-Budget announcement next month about a depression awareness campaign.

Under the draft plan, the Ministry of Health will take over the running of the Government's suicide prevention initiatives, and will receive funding of $9.1 million over four years.

The suicide initiatives have been run by the Ministry of Youth Development.

The draft strategy will now go out for public consultation. The ministries will hold 16 public meetings next month.

Once the draft is finalised, a detailed plan will be developed to introduce the strategy.

Mr Anderton said he hoped to have the programme running by the end of the year.

A meeting is also planned for next month between Ministry of Health officials and the media to discuss the coverage of suicide.

A Canterbury University study found the media want more freedom to report on suicide, and that existing Health Ministry suggestions are largely ignored. Mr Anderton said there was some evidence to suggest that media coverage could increase suicidal behaviour.

The numbers

* 460 people committed suicide in 2002.

* This was a reduction of 25 per cent since 1998, but it is still the sixth-highest rate in OECD nations.

* Three times as many men as women commit suicide, and twice as many woman as men try to commit suicide and are hospitalised as a result.