Shania Shayal Prasad 
A sharp rise in suicide attempts this year has raised alarm among mental health advocates.
They fear progress is slipping.
Empower Pacific has handled 80 attempted suicide cases in just the first six months of this year.
That’s already close to last year’s total of 114 and not far behind 2023’s 145. The figure was 160 in 2022.
Chief Executive Patrick Morgam said the numbers was a red flag.
“In total for the last three years, three and a half years now, we have come to close to 500 people that had attempted to commit suicide and also deliberate self-harm.”
Morgam adds that many cases happen during festive seasons, exam periods and even inside hospitals.
He states emergency departments now report cases nearly every weekend, often linked to financial stress.
Counsellor Mereisi Tavaiqia shares that a major barrier is that people don’t know where to turn for help.
“When we have limited advocacy towards it, people don’t actually know that there’s a helpline that exists. So our counseling helpline is 5626. And I think that’s the biggest barrier that we face.”
Tavaiqia is urging more community advocacy and action to spot signs of distress early and connect people to support.
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