Nurse found dead after family refusal on marriage proposal

A 34-year-old nurse, David Atinga, who works at the Kpasera CHPS compound in the Central Gonja District of the Savannah Region, has been found hanging on a tree.

Mr Atinga, according to the information gathered, allegedly committed suicide over his lover.

According to sources, the lover’s family asked the deceased to convert to Islam before he would be given a chance to marry the lady.

Some residents, who spoke in an interview, indicated that certain traditional rites were performed at the scene before the body was removed from the tree.

Several suicide cases have been recorded in the country.

A similar incident happened in Kasoa in October 2022 when a man committed suicide on a high-voltage GRIDCo transmission line.

He is said to have climbed the high-voltage transmission line pylon at Kasoa Galilea.

According to some eyewitnesses, he claimed he was tired of life.

On November 7, 2022, a 10-year-old girl at Agona Duotu in the Central Region allegedly committed suicide. The deceased was identified as Afia Awusi.

The class 3 pupil of Agona Duotu D/A Basic School reportedly hanged herself in the corridors of her home in the early hours of Monday, November 7.

Also, in November this year, a woman in her early 60s allegedly committed suicide on her farm at Breman Essiam in the Ajumako Enyan Essiam District of the Central Region.

She was found hanging on a tree on her farm in the afternoon of Monday, November 28, 2022.

The deceased, Antie Esi Annan, went missing on Sunday, November 27, 2022, but the residents found her hanging on the tree.

According to the World Health Organisation, Africa has the highest rate of people dying by suicide globally.

In a statement, the agency said Africa is home to six of the 10 countries with the highest suicide rates globally.

The continent is said to have one psychiatrist for every 500,000 inhabitants – 100 times less than the WHO recommendation.

Around 11 people per 100,000 per year die by suicide in the African region, higher than the global average of nine per 100,000 people, the WHO says.

Mental health problems account for up to 11% of the risk factors associated with suicide.

The agency added that mental health workers are mostly located in urban areas on the continent, a reason for the sharp increase.