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WHO reveals Suicide Now Third Leading Cause of Death Among Youths
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Tedros warns mental health neglect could collapse economies
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1 billion people living with mental health conditions worldwide
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has raised alarm that suicide has become the third leading cause of death among young people, warning governments that failure to address mental health and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) will cost millions of lives and destabilise economies.
WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, delivered the warning in a video message posted on X on Saturday ahead of the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on NCDs and Mental Health scheduled for September 25 in New York.
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“Noncommunicable diseases include seven of the world’s top ten causes of death, such as cancers, heart disease, diabetes, and chronic respiratory disease,” Dr Tedros said. “In addition, more than one billion people face mental health conditions, and suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people.”
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The WHO chief stressed that the impact of these conditions goes beyond personal tragedies, describing them as an economic time bomb.
“Apart from cutting lives short and robbing families of their loved ones, these deaths also incur huge costs for health systems and economies,” he noted.
According to WHO, member states have been negotiating a political declaration over the past year which will be adopted at the UNGA meeting. The draft targets by 2030 include:
Expanding access to mental health care for 150 million people
Ensuring 150 million people achieve control of hypertension
Dr Tedros argued that investing in prevention is not a cost but an economic strategy. “It’s one of the smartest economic decisions any government can make. But often, governments face fierce opposition from industries that profit from unhealthy products.”
WHO figures show that suicide claims over 700,000 lives annually worldwide, with 73% of cases occurring in low- and middle-income countries. In Nigeria, the suicide mortality rate stood at 3.5 per 100,000 people as of January 2024, translating to about 15,000 deaths each year.
Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death among young people aged 15–29 globally.
The UN meeting is expected to push for stronger international cooperation to scale up suicide prevention, mental health support, and stigma reduction.
