APPENDIX 6: RESOURCES FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION IN GREEN­LAND

Suicide prevention in general

• QAMANI the national plan for suicide prevention 2023–2028, which is Greenland’s third a national suicide prevention strategy, was launched in 2023. (https://naalakkersuisut.gl/-/media/publikationer/boern_og_unge/2023/selvmordsstrategi_150923.zip)
• Link to news about the plan (https://naalakkersuisut.gl/Nyheder/2023/09/1009_qamani?sc_lang=da)

General support

• In case of a suicide attempt involving hospitalization, survivors are offered up to ten consultations with a psychologist from the psychiatric ward in Nuuk.
• Students can get help from psychologists employed at the national ‘Studenterrådgivningen’.

Telephone helplines

• Tusaannga - a national telephone helpline. The line is open 24/7 and is free of charge. Callers are treated as anonymous. https://socialstyrelsen.gl/4_tilbud_til_borgerne/tusaannga?sc_lang=da
• The Children’s Rights Institution, MIO  https://mio.gl/til-boern-og-unge/her-kan-du-faa-hjaelp/?lang=da
• Municipalities provide contact information on social support workers as a part of the project ‘Najorti’ (https://sermersooq.gl/da/boernetelefonen-og-socialvagten/ ).
• The Greenland police force operates a response chain of care where they are contacted as a first response, also for suicide attempts and suicides (tel +299 321448). This is a national offer.

For professionals

• Community-based courses on suicide prevention, which instructors deliver in Greenlandic and in collaboration with between med the Greenlandic government, Paarisa og Greenlandic municipalities and Livslinien Danmark (https://knr.gl/da/nyheder/kornelia-rungholm-har-laert-tale-om-selvmord-jeg-kan-redde-mennesker)
• Training of local instructors in suicide prevention in Greenland.

Support for bereaved by suicide and affected by suicide attempt

• No national offer exists for bereaved, or people affected by suicide attempt.
• Counseline helping for people in grief in general (https://sorgcenter.dk/2022/02/28/samarbejde-om-ny-groenlandsk-sorglinje/)

National alliances for suicide prevention

• Steering group meeting are being held to ensure implementation of the national plan for suicide prevention, Qamani.
• National collaboration between the self-government, Paarisa, Centre for Public Health in Greenland, municipalities, NGOs and public entities, as well as representatives from local communities.  

Research institutions for suicide prevention

• Centre for Public Health in Greenland at University of Southern Denmark conducts research on suicide and suicide prevention and collaborates with the national prevention team, Paarisa. (https://www.sdu.dk/da/sif/forskning/groenland)

Statistics on suicide

• Once a year the police publish a report where threats of suicides, suicide attempts and suicides are reported. https://politi.gl/aktuelt/statistik-og-udgivelser/aarsstatistik
• Publicly available data on number of suicides are available on Statistics Greenland’s databank. https://bank.stat.gl/pxweb/en/Greenland/