It is estimated that approximately 32% of all suicide deaths have occurred in the Western Pacific Region. Suicide rates in some countries/areas like Japan, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan and China have had significant increases recently and remained at historically high levels.
This monograph attempts to set out the basic framework for suicide prevention strategies. It provides details in formulating and evaluating suicide prevention programs. The public health approaches suggested offer a multilayer intervention model, which has been adopted by a number of developed countries for setting up national prevention strategies. Also included are details of some well-established suicide prevention programs worldwide and in the Western Pacific Region.