IPOH: The Health Ministry has introduced two new initiatives to strengthen efforts to address self-harm behaviour in the country, says Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.
He launched the National Suicide and Fatal Injury Registry Malaysia (NSFIRM) and the Postvention Services Guidelines in conjunction with the National-level 2026 World Suicide Prevention Day event here yesterday.
He said NSFIRM would strengthen the collection of forensic data on self-harm deaths and deaths caused by injuries, enabling more systematic analysis and monitoring of trends.
“The data from the registry could be used to formulate policies, programmes and services that were more targeted to the needs on the ground.
“The cooperation of various parties is crucial in this effort, particularly the Forensic Department, which plays a key role in the registry,” he said during the launch of the event at Poly-Tech Mara College here.
He said the Postvention Services Guidelines would ensure that individuals affected by a self-harm death received appropriate psychosocial support and interventions to help them through the recovery process.
He added that guidelines would also help reduce the risk of repeated self-harm behaviour and copycat self-harm.
“Under the guidelines, postvention services would be carried out in a more structured, systematic and integrated manner, with the ministry providing assistance through its Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Services (MHPSS) teams on the ground.
“The two initiatives will complement each other and will serve as an important step towards strengthening the country’s support system and response to self-harm prevention,” he added.
