MANILA, Philippines — More than 1,000 people commit suicide in the the East Asia/Western Pacific region every day, and the number is rising because of economic insecurity, breakdowns of family ties and other factors, the World Health Organization said Tuesday.
The growing number of people who kill themselves as a result of mental stress has grown to such extent in recent years that suicide now ranks along with tuberculosis as a major health concern, WHO Regional Director Shigeru Omi told Manila-based foreign correspondents.
The majority of states in the WHO Western Pacific area — comprising 37 nations from Mongolia and China to Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific island nations — have been affected by the suicide problem, he said.
"I am sure this is going up unless we do something," Omi said.
WHO official Linda Milan said the suicide problem had also affected young people, a number of whom had been driven to take their lives because of the stress of having to face very rigid school entrance examinations.
Among the main causes suicide are rapid socio-economic changes, urbanization and disintegration of family bonds, Omi said.
"The economic reality, unemployment, job security are contributing to the incidence of suicide," he said.
Omi said the magnitude of the problem was also also apparent in the West.
"Rapid social change is associated with rising stress," the WHO said in its annual report on the problem of mental health in the Western Pacific.
"In addition, social and economic instability is apparent in many countries — some of it related to globalisation of the world economy and continued or growing impoverishment of broad groups of rural and poorly educated people," the report said.
"Disasters, armed conflict and violence, displacement, urbanisation, migration, unemployment, work stress, unwanted pregnancies, family disruption and social isolation are all affecting people in the region," it added.
The result is increased rates of depression, anxiety and alcohol and drug abuse, the report said.