Eight countries are sending researchers to study the most effective ways to prevent suicide among aboriginal youth living in their arctic regions, reports Canadian Press. The Canadian government has contributed one million dollars to the project with results expected to be presented to the next meeting of the Arctic Council in northern Canada.
In January, coroner called a special inquiry in Canada’s northern territory of Nunavut after 45 people killed themselves in 2013. That compared to a previous high of 34 and is more than 13 times the national average.
The United States and Greenland also have high suicide rates and are participating in the study, as are Norway, Sweden and Denmark. It is hoped Russia will join. There appear to be common features to suicides in the different circumpolar regions.
They seem to mostly affect young people up to their mid-20s and they seem to involve cultural displacement and issues around formation of identity, said Malcolm King, science director for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, which is co-ordinating the project.
Possible solutions could include simple things like giving youth a voice through photography, film or theatre, King told Canadian Press.
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