Luxembourg to launch four-year suicide prevention plan

(CS) The Luxembourg government on Friday greenlighted a national suicide prevention plan, with 33 measures planned for implementation between 2015 and 2019.

The aim of the plan is to reduce the number of suicides and attempted suicides in Luxembourg. It is based on the LIFE (Living Is For Everyone) strategy, developed in Australia, which focuses on six main areas.

These include:

• Improving the understanding of suicide prevention
• Building individual resilience and the capacity for self-help
• Improving community strength, resilience and capacity in suicide prevention
• Taking a coordinated approach to suicide prevention
• Providing targeted suicide prevention activities
• Implementing standards and quality in suicide prevention

Together, these steps are aimed at better supporting individuals, families and communities, building individual and collective resilience in the wake of traumatic events, teaching communities to identify care needs and allowing people to respond to persons in distress, as well as better coordinating actors in the field to ensure a safe environment for at-risk persons.

Based on this strategy, Luxembourg is planning on implementing 33 specific measures over the next four years. Details of the plan, however, have not yet been announced.