Welcome to
African Centre for Suicide Prevention and Research (ACSPR)
"Together we can prevent suicide"
Our Vision
To be the leading centre for suicide research and prevention in low and middle income countries.
Our Mission
A center of excellence for the reduction and prevention of suicide in Africa through research, creation of awareness and establishment of suicide prevention strategies.
Why talk about Suicide?
Suicide is one of the leading causes of death all over the world. However, little is known about it on the African continent. Most countries on the continent do not report suicide as one of the causes of death. It is still stigmatized in many communities and therefore not freely talked about. ACSPR aims to facilitate the sharing of information about suicide and prevention strategies on the continent.
ACSPR Objectives
To uncover and reduce the hidden burden of suicide on the African continent through research, creation of awareness and establishment of prevention strategies. ACSPR aspires to be the leading centre for suicide research and prevention in low and middle income countries.
Other Objectives
- To contribute to reducing suicide rates in Africa
- To effectively prevent suicidal behaviours, both fatal and non-fatal.
- To use a wide range of high-quality research methods in order to better understand and explain suicidal behaviour.
- To carry out research in a multi-level, multi-disciplinary way that can be implemented flexibly in various cultural contexts.
- To provide effective intervention, treatment options, and postvention activities.
- To fight stigma associated with suicidal behaviour.
- To disseminate the latest knowledge in the field of suicide within the general public and field professionals.
- To engage in different events and media in order to bring together people from academia, government, NGOs, and general public.
- To provide education and training opportunities for university students and other interested parties.
- To be a part of national and international associations and research networks.
- To contribute to the implementation and evaluation of a suicide prevention strategies (national suicide prevention strategy is in progress).
- To advocate for de-criminalisation of suicide.
Some Facts about Suicide
According to the World Report on Violence and Public Health of the World Health Organization (WHO), on an international scale, there are as many deaths due to suicide as from all terrorist acts and wars combined. Each year, nearly a million people die by suicide. In most countries, suicide is much more frequent among men than among women.
Suicide attempts and suicidal ideation are much more frequent than completed suicides. For every hundred suicide attempts, only one will end in death.
Complexity of the Problem
There are no simple explanations for suicide, suicide is multi-determined. Medicine, psychology and social sciences contribute to the comprehensive understanding of suicide. Although mental disorders are strongly associated with suicide, the majority of people who suffer from such disorders do not commit suicide. To understand suicide it is necessary to consider a suicidal person’s life history and their context. Social values, public policies and a person’s environment are also factors to consider in explaining of suicide.
ACSPR’s Approach
ACSPR activities are based on the conviction that suicide prevention requires concerted action by researchers and community members. These actions must focus not only on individuals, but also on the environment and society. Therefore, ACSPR adopted an ecological framework in which an understanding of suicide is based upon the examination of the complex relationships between people and their environment.
Research in suicidology requires close intersectorial cooperation between researchers from both the health and social sciences. ACSPR is dedicated to creating links between research and practice and counts on the close cooperation its members have established with diverse organizations concerned with suicide prevention. Partners participate with ACSPR researchers in the development of research projects, their implementation, interpretation of results as well as dissemination of conclusions to planners and policy makers in organizations working in suicide prevention.
Coping with suicidal thoughts
01.
Motivation
Motivation refers to factors that activate, direct, and sustain goal-directed behaviour. At ACSPR, we are motivated by the fact that under normal circumstances, the force of self-preservation is stronger than that of self-destruction. As such, enhancement self-preservation would abate suicide.
02.
Risk Factors for Suicide
The factors associated with increased risk for suicide vary across different geographical regions, lifespan and socio-economic groups. Check the details here Risk Factors | Suicide Prevention Program | Western Michigan University (wmich.edu)
03.
Strategy
Strategy refers to the art of planning and directing actions designed to achieve a long-term or overall aim
04.
Dealing with loss of a loved one to Suicide
Losing a loved one to suicide has a great impact to many and has different meanings according to what you believe in.
10 Ways to Support a Loved One Who Has Lost Someone to Suicide (afsp.org)
05.
Self Improvement
Self-improvement is an integral development process that evolves throughout life, by which one learns to have self-awareness, improve one’s personal abilities and pursue one’s life goals. It consists of self-realization, doing what one really wants to do and living more fully.
06.
Self Awareness
Self-awareness refers to the habit of paying attention to the way you think, feel, and behave. It means looking for patterns in the way we tend to think about and perceive what happens to, how we explain things to ourselves and make sense of the world around us.
07.
Confidence
Confidence refers to the belief or feeling that one can have faith in or rely on someone or something.
08.
Life Skills
Life skills are abilities for adaptive and positive behaviour that enable humans to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of life. This concept is also termed as psychosocial competency.