WHO Launches New Guide to Improve Suicide Death Registration and Prevention

Strengthening suicide surveillance is a core pillar of WHO’s LIVE LIFE Initiative, the organisation’s global framework for suicide prevention.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a new global resource aimed at improving the accuracy and quality of suicide mortality data, recognising that reliable information is essential for effective suicide prevention. Titled Preventing suicide: a resource for strengthening suicide case registration, the guide seeks to address long-standing challenges in the certification, registration and coding of deaths by suicide.

Accurate data on suicide remain difficult to obtain in many countries due to stigma, underreporting, fragmented surveillance systems and differences in medico-legal practices. WHO notes that these gaps limit the ability of governments and health systems to fully understand the scale of the problem and to design timely, evidence-based prevention strategies.

The new resource focuses on strengthening death certification and coding processes, particularly within civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems. It is primarily intended for medical certifiers and mortality coders, but is also designed to support other professionals involved in death investigation and certification, including police officers, forensic doctors, coroners and statisticians.

High-quality suicide data are critical for prevention efforts. Comprehensive registration systems provide essential information such as age, sex and methods of suicide, helping policymakers and health authorities identify high-risk groups, monitor trends over time and target interventions more effectively. WHO emphasises that without accurate data, suicide prevention efforts risk being misdirected or insufficient.

The guide offers practical, step-by-step support to help professionals navigate the complexity of suicide case registration. It includes clear instructions for medical certifiers on how to accurately complete cause-of-death certificates, practical guidance for mortality coders on assigning correct suicide codes in line with the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), and strategies to improve overall data quality and consistency.

In addition, the resource addresses common challenges such as stigma and socio-cultural sensitivities surrounding suicide, which can influence reporting practices. By strengthening technical capacity and promoting standardised approaches, WHO aims to reduce misclassification and underreporting while improving confidence among professionals responsible for recording deaths.

Strengthening suicide surveillance is a core pillar of WHO’s LIVE LIFE Initiative, the organisation’s global framework for suicide prevention. The initiative promotes evidence-based actions across four strategic areas: reducing access to means of suicide, responsible media reporting, building life skills, and early identification and support for people at risk. Improved data collection underpins all these efforts, enabling countries to measure progress and refine policies.

Suicide remains a major global public health concern. More than 720,000 people die by suicide each year worldwide, making it one of the leading causes of death globally. Among young people aged 15–29 years, suicide is the third leading cause of death, with profound and lasting impacts on families, friends, peers and entire communities.

By strengthening suicide case registration and improving the quality of mortality data, WHO hopes the new resource will support countries in developing more effective, targeted and compassionate suicide prevention strategies, ultimately saving lives.