The World Suicide Prevention Day, September 10, marks a day that is aimed at promoting global commitment as well as action for prevention of suicides; and, this time around, the theme for the day is: "Preventing Suicide in Multicultural Societies."

The day highlights that fact that, at the global level, there is a pertinent need to raise the awareness that suicide - which is a complex mental health problem which involves psychological, biological, cultural, social, and environmental factors - is one of the main preventable causes of premature death.

Going by the statistics pertaining to suicide cases round the world, nearly one million people die from suicide every year; with the "global" mortality rate due to suicides being 16 per 100,000 - or, to put it differently, one suicidal death in every 40 seconds.

Viewing the situation from another perspective, nearly 3000 people, on an average, commit suicide everyday. Furthermore, for every person who completes a suicide, 20 or more people may attempt to end their lives.

Globally, suicide is estimated to represent 1.8 percent of the total worldwide burden of disease in 1998 --- with mental disorders, chiefly depression and alcohol use disorders, being a major risk factor for suicides in Europe and North America; impulsiveness being the leading risk factor in Asian countries; and poverty and in some cases "spiritual forces" being the leading cause in Africa!