SUICIDE PARADISE: Botswana leads SADC in suicide rates
Botswana has one of the highest suicide rates in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, the World Population Review has said. Research shows that at 26.3 per 100 000 population, male suicide rate is four times higher than that of females in Botswana, which is 6.4.
And this phenomenon has not escaped the country’s second city – Francistown – where the Mayor, Godisang Radisego says four suicide cases – all of them involving males - were reported in Selepa ward recently.
In response to this upsurge, Radisego led an awareness walk this past Saturday under the theme, ‘Healthy minds, a great walk to success,’ to sensitise the public and create awareness.
He urged the menfolk to seek professional help whenever they are in distress, to think big and look at the bigger picture beyond relationships, which are often the cause of suicides.
'Focus on your career because there is a bigger picture beyond romantic relationships,' Radisigo advised, and implored those facing life problems to seek counselling from professionals instead of killing their loved ones and commit suicide.
Murder, rape and defilement are some of the worrisome offences in Francistown with five murder, 33 rape, and 82 defilement cases recorded in the first quarter of 2023.
Radisigo said most of these cases are caused by use of drugs such as CAT. He implored parents to teach their children to avoid getting involved in social ills.