Mental health experts have called for development of intervention mechanisms to stem rising cases of suicide.

Recently, Kigali woke up to the news of the death of a 25 year-old girl, Hatangimana Scolastique, who had earlier jumped off the Makuza Peace Plaza in the city centre.

She was one of the four people in Kigali reported to have committed suicide in a span of two days in Kigali.

Elsewhere in Rwamagana, a man, said to be a former soldier committed suicide after battling depression for some time.

According to doctors who spoke to Rwanda Today, a prompt response could save lives people, noting that the reported cases could not be stopped because the response came in too late.

In Rwinkwavu District alone, one to two people are admitted every day after they attempted suicide, mostly taking poison to take their lives.

He said that last year alone, up to 70 people were reported to have committed suicide, not considering those that were not reported.

In an interview with Dr Emmanuel Musoni Rwililiza, a psychiatrist and psychotherapist attached to Rwinkwavu hospital said increasing number of suicide cases is an indicator of a big mental health problem that the country is sited on.

He said the biggest challenge that many of the people who suffer mental health problems face is the high cost of treatment, which bar even those who decide to seek treatment.

“Affordability is still a big problem, especially for poor people in rural areas, many are suffering without any form of treatment until they reach a point if suicide, even follow up is for those who survived the first attempt is hard because some cant afford traveling three times in a week to the hospital,” said Mr Rwililiza.

Mental health treatment in private hospitals goes up Rwf35,000, while in government hospitals it costs Rwf8,000 per session.

Psychotherapy is not included on the mituelle de santé tariff, which forces patients to dig into their pockets. Mr Rwililiza said mental health involves prevention, treatment and emergency response when a person reaches the last phase of attempting to commit suicide.

He observed that there is a need for mass psycho-education such that people, starting at the family level can not only know how to detect someone with signs of mental health and be able to support them, but also have basic first aid skills.