Suicide - a global overview and focus on the South African situation

Abstract

As a medical doctor you learn how to deal with death and you feel that your duty is to encourage people to fight against illness for their lives but, when you face suicide, you feel defenseless because it is the person him or herself who chooses to die. Another reason for choosing this topic is that I’m advocating the development and implementation of a Suicide Prevention Program in South Africa and this could be a good forum to talk about this important issue