Action plan on suicide prevention in Switzerland

The federal government has worked closely with other stakeholders to draw up the action plan on suicide prevention. The aim is the reduction of suicidality during stress crises or mental illnesses.

Action plan on suicide prevention

Switzerland adopted a national action plan on suicide prevention in November 2016. This document sets out Switzerland’s most important epidemiological benchmarks, the objectives and measures of the action plan as well as the planned implementation by the stakeholders. The document shows the state of suicide prevention in Switzerland, and is intended to promote knowledge sharing with other stakeholders.

The action plan aims to reduce the number of suicides per 100 000 inhabitants by about 25% by 2030. If this target can be reached in the long term (by 2030), about 300 deaths from suicide will be prevented in Switzerland.

Goals and measures of the action plan

The action plan on suicide prevention formulates 10 goals:

1. strengthen personal and social resources
   
2. inform about suicidality and promote awareness-raising
   
3. offer help that is easily accessible
   
4. early recognition of suicidal behaviours and intervention
   
5. prompt treatment of and care for people who are at risk of suicide
   
6. reduce the availability of suicidal means and methods
   
7. support relatives, friends, and professionals who are affected by a suicide
   
8. promote responsible and respectful reporting of suicides by the media
   
9. promote research and monitoring
   
10. disseminate best practice examples of suicide prevention

The action plan shows the state of suicide prevention in Switzerland as well as the resulting 19 key measures.

Implementation

In Switzerland, many stakeholders are already active with individual measures of the suicide prevention action plan and are ready to participate in their implementation. This means that in Switzerland, investment is primarily needed for the coordination of stakeholders and measures. The federal government now operates a "Suicide Prevention" project office at the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH). This supports governmental and civil law stakeholders with the implementation of the action plan via networking and coordination as well as the development of knowledge bases.

Documents

Report Suicide prevention in Switzerland (PDF, 366 kB, 09.04.2018)

Last modification 20.12.2018