In the first year of management, the Lula government paralyzed the Steering Committee for the National Policy for the Prevention of Self-Mutilation and Suicide, an interministerial body that plans and monitors the national policy against suicide. This type of death increased by 12% in the last year.
The collegiate, which operated until the end of the Bolsonaro government, now has no composition, schedule or deadline to be resumed. In 2020, the decree that created the committee decided that meetings should take place at least four times a year. The body’s objective includes planning, proposing and monitoring the National Policy for the Prevention of Self-Mutilation and Suicide.
The commission has four members with voting rights, representing the following portfolios: the Ministry of Health, in coordination; the Ministry of Education; the Ministry of Citizenship; and the Ministry of Human Rights. Under Lula, the last two portfolios merged.
In addition to experts from public and private entities who can contribute to the topic, the committee also envisages the participation of members of national councils of health and education secretaries.
The number of suicides in Brazil has been growing. According to the Brazilian Public Security Forum, there were 16,300 registrations in 2022, an average of 44 per day. This is an increase of 12% compared to the previous year.
When contacted, the Ministry of Health, which leads the committee, did not explain the delay, nor did it inform the deadline for the group to be formed under the current administration, as is usual, the body blamed the Bolsonaro government for a “dismantling” in mental health policy. .
“The implementation of the committee is underway with the participation of the departments involved. The Ministry of Health is working to expand the activities of the Psychosocial Care Network, which was dismantled during the previous administration”.
Metropolises
