A minor died this Monday following jumping into the void from the top floor of CC Sambil located in the Chacao municipality. The young man was reportedly 17 years old.
The teenager, whose identity has not yet been revealed, still had vital signs at the time of the fall; but he died following entering the Domingo Luciani Hospital in El Llanito.
As a result of this fact, Abel Saraiba, psychologist and deputy coordinator of Cecodap, warned that suicide in children and adolescents is a public health problem that needs to be treated.
“Since 2020 there is a sustained and flat increase in mood disorders and suicidal risk that is not being addressed,” he warned on Twitter.
The expert said that families cannot be expected to take care of all the work as they are not psychiatric institutions.
“The family has a role, but that must be complemented by that of the school and the public health system. The big problem is that these three pillars are beaten ”, he pointed out.
He comments that the country’s humanitarian emergency “has made the conditions of the (insufficient) mental health centers even more precarious, that access to medicines is very expensive and therefore the rights of children and adolescents are violated.”
“From Cecodap we have done various investigations, monitoring the mental health of children and adolescents, as well as the situation of related public policies,” he concluded.
We have been warning it, suicide in children and adolescents is a public health problem that requires attention. Since 2020 there is a steady and flat increase in mood disturbances and suicide risk that is not being addressed.
– Abel Saraiba (@abelsaraiba) January 3, 2022