Skip to main content

Lebanon launches suicide hotline to raise awareness about mental health

In light of social stigma and limited health care, a Lebanese NGO is launching a suicide hotline to help people suffering from mental illnesses overcome their problems.
Suicide_helpline_Leb_.jpg
Read in 

Embrace, a Lebanese nongovernmental organization (NGO) that raises awareness about mental health, launched in September the first national suicide prevention hotline in Lebanon. Currently in its pilot phase, the hotline will officially launch at the end of October and will be able to receive up to 150 calls a month.

Suicide rates in Lebanon are lower than in other countries. According to a World Health Organization study last updated in June, the suicide rate in Lebanon for 2015 stood at 3.1 per 100,000 people compared with 14.3 per 100,000 people in the United States for the same year. But lower suicide rates do not mean the issue should be taken lightly, and mental health issues such as depression should be prevented and treated before they become an epidemic.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.