Merida legislator Fabiana Santamaría stressed that since there are not enough public psychiatric centers with sufficient resources, it becomes even more difficult to address this crisis. mHe stated that suicide is multifactorial, although in the last cases registered in Venezuela the economic issue and the separation of families linked to migration are evident.
Maria Iriarte | Radio Fe y Alegría News
The legislator of the Legislative Council of the state of Mérida Fabiana Santamaría warned that the mental health of the Venezuelan is in crisis and is not being attended to correctly, because in the country there are only 48 public psychiatric centers and most of them do not have resources, they lack personnel and the facilities are deteriorated.
«There is no national public policy on mental health and there is no uniformity or continuity in prevention policies. We see that different initiatives are carried out without coordination and that is worrying because in the end mental health is as or more important than physical health,” he told Radio Faith and Joy News.
He stressed that the suicide rates that are known are thanks to the work of the Venezuelan Violence Observatory (OVV), but that there are no real statistics. Without the data, it is difficult to carry out an investigation that determines what the risk factors are.
He also stressed that since there are not enough public psychiatric centers with sufficient resources, it becomes even more difficult to address this crisis.
The legislator from Merida added that the majority of suicides occur in the elderly and adolescents, which would indicate that in the former it would be because they no longer have a purpose in life, or because they feel that they are no longer useful or productive in life. society.
While with the latter, he affirmed that he found in different groups of young people that they perceive that in Venezuela they do not have opportunities for development, for which two options are considered: leave the country or commit suicide.
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However, he stated that suicide is multifactorial, although in the last cases registered in Venezuela the economic issue and the separation of families linked to migration are evident.
«Many children have gone to the country to support their parents financially, but it is not only that. It is the affective abandonment, the feeling of isolation, not being able to go out on the streets due to insecurity, it is that we are not seeing cultural movements, nor healthy sports within the country, “said Santamaría.
neglected crisis
Fabiana Santamaría considered that the national government has abandoned the elderly as if they were not part of society. “In the interior, it is not observed that the elderly have a place to go to recreate, there are no policies that encourage entrepreneurship,” she said.
In this sense, he wondered why not involve them and create education and entrepreneurship centers, where they realize that they are still useful and that they can contribute.
In the case of young people, he insisted that a political and economic change cannot be expected to begin to propose solutions, but that it is essential that the State dedicates itself to providing them with some opportunity.
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“We, since the campaign that we have undertaken in Mérida, have focused a lot on what culture and sports are, as ways to channel the negative thoughts they have, to drain those feelings of depression and get something that connects them again with life,” he said.
According to him OVV annual report, in 2022, at least 1104 suicides were registered. For its part, in 2021 the rate was 1,164 and in 2020, 1,150 deaths. Mérida remains the state with the most cases.
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