AMHROA Urges Africa to Decriminalise Suicide Attempts, Prioritise Care
By Genesis Ogiri
ABUJA -- The Association of Mental Health Reform Organizations in Africa (AMHROA) has called on African governments to decriminalise attempted suicide and replace punitive responses with compassionate care, timely intervention and comprehensive mental health support. The call was contained in the organisation’s Continental Position Paper issued on Thursday, September 10, 2026, to mark World Suicide Prevention Day.
In the position paper titled “From Criminalisation to Care: Advancing Rights-Based Mental Health Reform, Contextualised Legislation, Sustainable Investment and Suicide Prevention Across Africa,” AMHROA said Africa must urgently reform laws, policies and systems that treat people experiencing mental health crises as offenders rather than individuals in need of protection and professional support.
The organisation stressed that suicide prevention must go beyond public awareness campaigns, arguing that governments need to establish functional mental health systems capable of providing early identification, crisis intervention, community-based support, specialist treatment and sustained follow-up for people experiencing psychological distress.
AMHROA said criminalising suicide attempts can deepen stigma and discourage people from seeking help, thereby making early intervention more difficult. It maintained that a person experiencing a mental health crisis should encounter trained health professionals and appropriate support services rather than arrest, prosecution or punishment.
The organisation also anchored its position on human rights principles, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which recognises the right of individuals to enjoy the best attainable state of physical and mental health. It therefore urged African states to ensure that mental health legislation and suicide-prevention policies reflect dignity, equality, inclusion and protection of vulnerable people.
The call comes as Nigeria takes a significant step towards decriminalising attempted suicide, following the approval by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) of the position of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare on the matter. The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, disclosed this in Abuja during the 2026 World Suicide Prevention Day commemoration, saying the proposal would proceed to the National Assembly for the necessary legislative process.
The Federal Government said the reform was not only a legal issue but also a public health and human rights imperative, stressing that legislation alone would not prevent suicide without sustained investment in mental health services, early intervention, community support, public awareness and trained health workers. The Ministry also said it had established a National Task Force on the Decriminalisation of Attempted Suicide to coordinate stakeholder consultations, policy dialogue and advocacy.
AMHROA further advocated a comprehensive continuum of care covering mental health promotion, prevention and early identification, primary mental healthcare, specialist services and crisis or emergency care. It called for increased financing, stronger mental health workforces, reliable suicide surveillance systems, community-based services, disability inclusion and meaningful participation of people with lived experience in policy development.
The position comes as the World Health Organisation (WHO) marks World Suicide Prevention Day 2026 under the theme “Changing the Narrative on Suicide”, with the call to action, “Start the Conversation.” WHO says suicide remains a major public health challenge, with more than 720,000 people dying by suicide globally each year, and urges governments and communities to challenge stigma, promote compassionate conversations, improve access to quality care and implement evidence-based prevention strategies.
