Suicide Prevention Must Be Treated as a Public Health Emergency

There is a dangerous belief that shapes public expectations and political action: that suicide is tragic but ultimately unavoidable.

We reject that belief.

In 2024, there were 290 registered deaths by suicide in Northern Ireland. If 290 people were dying from almost any other preventable cause, we would not be debating whether action was affordable. We would be mobilising every available resource to prevent further loss of life.

Yet suicide continues to be treated primarily as a private tragedy rather than the public health emergency it is.

We have seen what can be achieved when governments, communities and public services respond to crises with urgency. Sustained action has reduced deaths on our roads, driven down smoking rates and transformed outcomes in the fight against HIV. The same determination must now be applied to suicide prevention.

The greatest danger we face is not a lack of awareness. It is the acceptance that this level of loss is something we must learn to live with.

It is not.

Every suicide is a devastating loss. Every suicide leaves families, friends and communities carrying unimaginable grief. While not every suicide can be prevented, we know that many can. The evidence exists. The interventions exist. The need is urgent.

As partners in the Too Many Lives Lost campaign, we stand united in calling for suicide prevention to be treated with the urgency, investment and leadership that any other public health emergency would demand.

The question is no longer whether more can be done.

The question is whether we have the courage and determination to act at the scale this crisis requires.