A person exists before the numbers.
A young man from Ohangwena stops answering his phone. A father in Khomas carries his concerns alone because he believes strong men don’t cry. A teenager who slips from a classroom into a moment of silence that no one notices.
Behind every statistic in the latest police report is a life that mattered, a family in mourning, and a community wondering what could have been done differently.
Why men?
According to figures shared by the Namibian Police, there have been at least 122 suicides since the beginning of the year, with 40 in January and February and 42 in March alone.
There were 98 male and 19 female victims. Five cases involved minors.
Most cases were reported in the Ohangwena, Omusati and Oshikoto regions but also occurred in the Khomas, Erongo, the two Kavango regions, Kunene, Zambezi, Omaheke, ||Kharas and Hardap.
NATIONAL CRISIS
This is not a one-time tragedy that affects only one part of the country. A national emergency is unfolding in every region.
The data tells a gender-specific story that we cannot afford to overlook.
Men account for roughly four out of every five recorded deaths, a pattern that is consistent with global findings.
Men die by suicide at more than twice the rate of women, including in southern Africa, where men account for nearly 80% of suicide cases.
Namibia falls in the world’s most affected region.
According to the World Health Organisation, the African region has the highest suicide rate in the world, at 11.2 per 100 000 people, compared to a global average of nine.
Namibia ranks fourth in Africa.
Given we have such a small population, the suicide rate is deeply concerning.
STEREOTYPICAL MASCULINITY
Why are men dying in such large numbers?
The answer is rooted in harmful masculine stereotypes that associate vulnerability with weakness.
Across the region, traditional norms discourage men from expressing their pain or seeking assistance, while economic pressure exacerbates the wound.
Namibia has one of the highest youth unemployment rates in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), at more than 44% for those aged 15 to 34.
When a man is taught that he must provide but is unable to find work, shame can turn to despair.
Untreated depression, alcoholism, family breakdowns, domestic violence and loneliness all increase the risk.
The fact that women report more attempts while more men die highlights the importance of prevention for both genders. And the five minors among the deceased underline that our children are not immune.
Crucially, this is a justice issue. Police officers are often the first responders to a person in crisis but they are not trained therapists.
Namibia has begun to train officers to handle mental health incidents with sensitivity rather than force, a model worth replicating.
Survivors of attempted suicides require care rather than stigma; victims of violence require support services; and correctional facilities require mental health capacity.
WHAT COMES NEXT?
The encouraging news is that suicide is preventable.
Namibia is the only African country with a national suicide prevention strategy. What it requires now is outreach.
In short, we need implementation.
That includes funding community-based care and crisis hotlines; school counsellors; gatekeeper training for teachers, churches, traditional leaders and employers; alcohol-harm reduction, given the strong link between drinking and suicide; responsible media reporting; and post-vention support to ensure that grieving families are never alone.
No Namibian should have to face their most difficult moments in silence.
A country’s strength is determined by how well it protects its most vulnerable citizens during their most vulnerable times.
The 122 lives represented in this report serve as a call to action – to families to listen, to leaders to act, and to all of us to begin the conversation.
Let us answer it together, with urgency and hope.
– Michael Conteh is a gender expert and a publicly engaged scholar. He can be reached at linsobob@gmail.com
