A 10-year-old girl at Agona Duotu in the Central Region has allegedly committed suicide.
The deceased has been identified as Afia Awusi.
The class 3 pupil of Agona Duotu D/A Basic School hanged herself in the corridors of her home in the early hours of Monday, November 7, 2022.
It is unknown what triggered the little girl to take her own life.
However, some residents who knew the deceased say they suspect someone might have killed and hanged her since they don’t believe the little girl could hang herself.
Following a report to the Agona Swedru Police Command, the body of the deceased has been deposited at the Agona Swedru Government Hospital Mortuary for autopsy and preservation.
The police are investigating the situation to establish the cause of death.
Suicide in Ghana
According to the World Health Organisation, globally, more than 700,000 people die by suicide every year, which means someone commits suicide every 40 seconds.
Also, 77 per cent of the suicides that occurred in 2019 were in low and middle-income countries.
The Ghanaian situation is alarming!
According to the Ghana Mental Health Authority, there were 797 recorded cases in 2018. The figure shot up to 880 in 2019 and slightly dropped to 777 in 2020 but shot up to an alarming 902 cases in 2021.
Sadly, these are only reported cases; several other cases are not reported for fear of stigma.
The Ghana Mental Health Authority is gravely concerned about this worrying situation and has made a clarion call for organisations and institutions to step up advocacy and institute measures to curb the growing trend.
It is also crucial that we all join the advocacy to decriminalise suicide because the punitive law does not help solve the problem.