The disclosure that 583 adolescents were managed for suicide-related concerns across the country between 2024 and 2025 should trouble every Ghanaian.
Behind that number are young people who, for different reasons, reached a point where life had become unbearably difficult.
Some were struggling with academic pressure. Others were dealing with family or relationship problems, bullying, gambling, addictive behaviours or other challenges that can easily be dismissed by adults as “normal teenage problems”.
They are not normal problems when they begin to overwhelm a young person to the point of considering suicide.
The figures released by the Ghana Health Service (GHS) at the launch of this year’s Suicide Prevention Month in Accra therefore deserve more than a passing mention.
They should prompt a serious national conversation about how we care for the emotional and mental well-being of our children.
The GHS says 423 adolescents were recorded in 2024, while 160 were managed in 2025 for suicidal thoughts.
The figures may not tell the whole story, particularly given the stigma surrounding suicide and mental health, but they provide a worrying glimpse of what some young people are going through.
The response must consequently go beyond reacting when a crisis occurs.
The GHS deserves commendation for introducing a socio-emotional learning programme through existing health, education and community structures.
Teaching young people self-awareness, emotional regulation, communication, empathy, problem-solving, conflict resolution and resilience is not a luxury.
These are life skills that can help children navigate difficult moments before they become crises.
But such programmes must reach beyond workshops and policy documents. They must be properly resourced, consistently implemented and closely monitored in schools and communities.
Parents have an equally important role. A child who becomes withdrawn, anxious, unusually aggressive, isolated or hopeless may not simply be going through a phase.
Sometimes, the child is asking for help without knowing how to ask.
We must create homes where children can speak without immediately being judged, punished or ridiculed.
Schools, too, must become safer spaces for young people to seek help.
Teachers and school authorities should be equipped to recognise warning signs and know where to refer students who need professional support.
Bullying, in particular, must not be treated as harmless childhood mischief.
The media has a responsibility as well. Responsible reporting does not mean ignoring suicide. It means reporting it without sensationalism, harmful details or language that can deepen stigma.
More importantly, media coverage should point people towards help and remind those in distress that support is available.
The Mental Health Authority’s national helpline, 0800 678 678, is an important resource that the public should know about and use when someone may be at risk.
The Ghanaian Times urges parents, teachers, religious leaders, health professionals, policymakers and the media to treat adolescent mental health as a national priority.
We must listen more carefully to our children and take their distress seriously.
No young person should feel that death is the only way out of a difficult situation.
Suicide prevention is not the responsibility of the Mental Health Authority or the health sector alone.
It is a shared responsibility. If we want to protect Ghana’s future, we must start by protecting the young people who will inherit it and sometimes, that begins with something as simple as listening.
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