BOGOR - In commemoration of World Suicide Prevention Day, the National Center for Mental Health (PKJN) of Marzoeki Mahdi Hospital held a webinar on the challenges and priorities of suicide prevention in Indonesia, Tuesday (10/9/2024).
While giving a keynote speech, Minister of Health Budi G. Sadikin emphasized the importance of opening discussions and conversations about mental health conditions rather than hiding them. According to him, mental health should be a common topic of conversation in families and communities, so that someone can talk about their problems and ask for help without having to fear being judged.
"Stories about suicide are often wrapped in silence, shame, and fear. This narrative has trapped so many people, preventing them from seeking the help they desperately need. Rather than seeing suicide as something taboo, let's use social media to talk about it openly and with empathy," he said.
The President Director of PKJN RS Marzoeki Mahdi, Nova Riyanti Yusuf, in her speech said that PKJN RS Marzoeki Mahdi is responsible for fostering and standardizing mental health services in Indonesia, one of which is by launching the Guidelines for Screening and Prevention of Suicide in Children and Adolescents.
"Today, we have prepared real efforts to prevent suicide. Last year, Dr. Ahsan Nazeer contacted me to join the Joint Initiative for the Advancement of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in Low-Middle Income Countries (JIA-CAMHS). We decided to write suicide prevention guidelines for health facilities in Indonesia," she said.
The guidelines were prepared by PKJN RS Marzoeki Mahdi together with consultants consisting of child and adolescent psychiatrists from the United States Ahsan Nazer, Immediate Past President of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) Afzal Javed, President of the Asian Federation of Psychiatric Association (AFPA) Prasad Rao Gundugurti, and Immediate Past President of the SAARC Psychiatric Federation (SPF) Gautam Saha.
"These guidelines are available in English, which means they can be used by other countries, and will be translated into Indonesian. And can be accessed for free by the network of hospitals that provide mental health services. Further training will also be held to utilize the suicide prevention guidelines for children and adolescents," he concluded.
This webinar also presented psychiatrist Isa Multazam Noor and psychologist Roslina Verauli as speakers. The Medical and Nursing Director of PKJN RS Marzoeki Mahdi, Rahmi Handayani, was the moderator for the webinar which was attended by more than 180 participants this time. (PR/R)