Months after appointing its
first minister for loneliness, Britain named a minister for suicide prevention
as part of a new push to tackle mental health issues.
Prime Minister Theresa May
on Wednesday announced the appointment of the health minister Jackie
Doyle-Price to the new role. She will lead government efforts to cut the number
of suicides and overcome the stigma that prevents people with mental health
problems from seeking help.
While suicide rates have
dropped in recent years, about 4,500 people take their own lives each year in
England. It remains the leading cause of death for men under age 45, according
to government research.
“We can end the stigma that
has forced too many to suffer in silence,” Mrs. May said on Wednesday at a
Downing Street reception to commemorate World Mental Health Day. “We can
prevent the tragedy of suicide taking too many lives. And we can give the mental
well-being of our children the priority it so profoundly deserves.”
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