Uruguay, the worst in the Americas for suicides, reached a new record for self-murders in 2021
Friday, July 1st 2022 - 21:48 UTC
Despite the fact that Uruguay has been positioned by many indicators as one of the most advanced countries in terms of socioeconomic equality in the least egalitarian region of the world, where access to health and solid institutions with low corruption rates is relatively guaranteed in relation to its neighbors in the region, the Uruguayan Ministry of Public Health (MSP) reported that last year there were 758 suicides, which is equivalent to a rate of 21.39 suicides per 100,000 inhabitants.
The figure exceeds the figure reached during the crisis at the beginning of the century, which was 20.6 per 100,000 inhabitants and, on the other hand, is explained by the increase in self-harm among men as opposed to women's figures. Uruguay has been struggling for years with suicide, a problem that places the country among the top twenty in the world and the one with the highest figures in the Americas.
The year 2021 was a particular year because it was the second year under the health emergency and the one that reached record figures in this type of deaths, even surpassing the records of 2002, a year marked by a strong economic crisis in the Río de la Plata, which caused various social consequences.
The sociologist, professor, researcher of the University of the Republic and member of the Group of Understanding and Prevention of the Suicidal Behavior in Uruguay, Pablo Hein, talked last Wednesday with VTV, where he analyzed the subject and deepened in some aspects.
More:
https://en.mercopress.com/2022/07/01/uruguay-the-worst-in-the-americas-for-suicides-reached-a-new-record-for-self-murders-in-2021