Changing the narrative on suicide: investing in prevention, hope and wellbeing for every child

Every young life lost to suicide is one too many.  

In a small and closely connected country like the Maldives, the loss of a young life is felt far beyond one family. It affects friends, classmates, teachers, neighbours and entire communities. It is often the visible tip of an iceberg, and behind it may lie months or years of distress and missed opportunities to intervene, reflecting gaps in the networks and systems meant to protect and support children and young people. 

This World Suicide Prevention Day, the theme, "Changing the Narrative on Suicide," calls on all of us to start the conversation, challenge stigma, and create environments where children and young people feel safe seeking support. 

Prevention begins before a crisis 

Every child has the right to grow up healthy, supported and hopeful. Mental health concerns do not always emerge suddenly. Distress can develop gradually or remain unseen. Changes in sleep, mood, behaviour, relationships or school attendance may indicate that a child needs support long before a crisis develops. Recognizing and responding sensitively to early signs provides a critical opportunity to prevent escalation, protect wellbeing and restore hope. 

Early action begins by strengthening the skills, relationships and systems that protect mental health and promote wellbeing. Through social and emotional learning, children and adolescents can learn to understand and manage their emotions, cope with challenges, build positive relationships and recognize when and how to seek support. These skills must be reinforced by supportive families, safe schools and connected communities that protect their dignity, foster a sense of belonging and respond with care when they are struggling. 

Early identification of distress does not rest with specialists alone. It begins when parents and caregivers notice changes and feel able to start a caring conversation; when teachers recognize shifts in a student’s wellbeing and know how to respond; when health and social workers are equipped to provide appropriate support; and when young people feel safe approaching a trusted adult without fear of judgement, punishment or loss of privacy. 

Early identification alone, however, is not enough. It must be connected to a timely, skilled and adequately resourced response. Without trained personnel, accessible services and clear referral and follow-up pathways, children and families may be left to navigate complex mental health needs alone.  

The Maldives has taken important steps in this direction. The National Mental Health Strategic Action Plan 2025–2029 provides a roadmap for strengthening prevention, early intervention and community-based mental health services. The National Mental Health Helpline, 1677, has further expanded access to support across the country. 

These important gains provide a strong foundation for the next phase of action: ensuring that every child and adolescent, wherever they live, can access the support they need, when they need it. 

From commitments into protection for every child 

However, commitment is not yet the same as protection for every child. As long as access to support depends on the island where a child lives, prevention remains incomplete. 

Maldives must now move from isolated initiatives towards a connected, adequately resourced nationwide system that reaches children and adolescents wherever they live, detects concerns early, responds before distress escalates, and treats help-seeking as a sign of strength. 

The first conversation is critical, but what happens next matters just as much. Identification must lead to timely assessment. Assessment must lead to care, referral and follow-up. Follow-up must continue long enough to keep the child safe and supported. 

No school, health facility or institution can manage complex mental health concerns alone. Strong connections between schools, primary health care, emergency services, social services, child protection systems and community platforms are essential to ensure that no child falls through the gaps. 

This requires concrete action to: 

• Finance and expand accessible, mental health and psychosocial support services, starting from community-based so that children, adolescents and families on every island can access timely, confidential, age-appropriate, gender-responsive and disability-inclusive care. 

• Make referral and follow-up pathways functional across schools, primary health care, emergency care, social services, child protection services and community platforms, so that every identified concern leads to assessment, care and sustained support. 

• Strengthening data and evidence on suicide and self-harm including registration and surveillance with appropriate age and sex disaggregation, confidentiality, privacy safeguards and data protection.
• Invest in schools and communities as places for prevention, and more importantly, of early detection and protection, where social and emotional learning builds resilience and trusted adults are trained to recognize concerns, respond safely and connect children to help. 

• Support must protect dignity 

No young person should have to choose between receiving support and protecting their dignity. 

Mental health services must be confidential, compassionate, accessible and youth-friendly. Those who reach out must be met with care rather than judgement. Parents, teachers and frontline workers must have reliable information about where support is available and what steps to take when they are concerned about a child. 

And young people themselves must be at the centre of this change. They understand the realities they face, the pressures affecting their wellbeing, and the support they need. Listening to children and adolescents, and engaging them meaningfully and safely in shaping solutions, is what makes services and systems actually work for the people they are meant to serve. 

From awareness to action 

World Suicide Prevention Day must be more than a moment of awareness. It is a reminder that prevention requires early detection, sustained investment and timely response before distress becomes crisis. 

Let us change the narrative in Maldives: from silence to conversation, from stigma to compassion, and from awareness to sustained action. 

UNICEF calls on the Government of Maldives, partners, schools, communities and families to accelerate investment in prevention, finance accessible island-level services, strengthen referral and follow-up pathways, improve data and surveillance, and promote the social and emotional wellbeing of every child and adolescent. 

When early signs are recognised, when children know they are heard, when families know where to turn and when support reaches young people before distress escalates, we create more than a stronger mental health system. We create hope and give every child the opportunity to survive, thrive and reach their full potential. 

UNICEF stands ready to support the Government and partners in translating these priorities into practical, coordinated action that strengthens prevention, expands access to care and protects the wellbeing and dignity of every child and adolescent. 

If you or someone you know is struggling, support is available. Call the National Mental Health Helpline on 1677. The service is free, confidential and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.