Suicide prevention in Germany: People are too often left alone

More than 10,000 people die by suicide in Germany every year. This is more than the number of deaths from traffic accidents, violent crimes, and illegal drugs combined. In addition, there are more than 100,000 suicide attempts annually, according to the National Suicide Prevention Program.

This could be prevented in some cases. Because if people receive help in acute crisis situations, it can prevent suicide. On World Suicide Prevention Day this Wednesday, September 10, experts pointed out the underfunding of aid programs in Germany.

The theme of this year's World Suicide Prevention Day is "Changing the narrative on suicide. Talk openly – actively understand – act socially." "This theme highlights the taboo surrounding suicide worldwide, leading to speechlessness, a lack of understanding, and a lack of social action," said Barbara Schneider, a member of the executive board of the National Suicide Prevention Program (NaSPro), at a press conference. "Many people considering suicide still lack opportunities to discuss and express their problems and burdens, and thus find the help they need."

The reasons are varied: shame and fear of rejection and dismissal often play a major role. "But those close to those affected often experience very similar feelings, feeling ashamed, ineffective, and guilty, which often leads to conversations with their suicidal relatives and friends dying before they can even begin," says Schneider. "Talking openly" and "actively understanding" are therefore important building blocks in suicide prevention. Low-threshold support services are also important.

While there are suicide prevention activities throughout Germany, said Reinhard Lindner, also a member of the NaSPro board, it is important that "policymakers also keep the issue on the agenda." A suicide prevention law was drafted last year. However, that was before the change of government. Funding was already unclear at the time. The new federal government now has the opportunity to "address the problem even more broadly."

"Suicide prevention is a topic in the current coalition agreement and will be taken up again under the leadership of the Federal Ministry of Health. As far as we know, discussions have taken place at the level of the federal ministries involved and with the states. However, it remains unclear at this point whether all parties involved realize that successful suicide prevention does not come without a cost," Lindner said.

After all, several important projects are already being funded, such as the development of an e-learning program for suicide prevention in the healthcare system and the preparation of a registry for recording assisted suicides. "These positive developments should not obscure the fact that, unfortunately, there is still a significant lack of effective suicide prevention in Germany," Lindner said. He added that readily accessible services outside of psychiatric care are not sufficiently funded, and people in suicidal crises "still do not receive well-informed help quickly enough via telephone and internet-based helplines."

Mano is a relatively new suicide prevention project in Germany. For three years, the internet platform has been offering low-threshold, anonymous online counseling for people with suicidal thoughts. Counseling is provided by specially trained volunteers closely supervised by professionals. The program has been well received, explained Diana Kotte, a board member at Mano. Since its inception, 200 people have been counseled, and there have been a total of 2,000 counseling contacts. But this has now become a problem: Mao will soon no longer be able to cope with the influx of people seeking help.

"Although our 35 volunteer counselors are doing their best, demand is significantly higher than what we can currently offer at Mano," said Kotte. "In concrete terms, this means that approximately 90 percent of the time, we are no longer able to accept new clients. Imagine this: a suicidal person looking for help visits Mano's website and, with 90 percent probability, finds a notice saying there are currently no available counseling slots."

The program can only be expanded with appropriate funding. "Even if Mano counseling is provided by volunteers, no counseling message leaves our platform without being reviewed and approved by a full-time professional. Therefore, without more full-time professional staff, we cannot employ additional volunteer counselors," Kotte explained. Currently, it is even questionable whether Mano will even continue next year. Funding through the ARD television lottery ends at the beginning of 2026. Now it is up to politicians to provide the project with sufficient resources and ensure its continued existence.

The experts also identify the areas they consider particularly important: First, they call for comprehensive, adequate funding for low-threshold suicide prevention support services such as MANO and similar programs. Furthermore, they call for the establishment of a 24-hour suicide prevention helpline that offers counseling to people with suicidal thoughts, their families, and individuals who need support in dealing with people with suicidal thoughts.

In addition, the work of the National Suicide Prevention Program – an independent network of professionals and social institutions working on suicide prevention – must be supported. The appeal calls for the federal and state budgets to include sufficient funding for these measures by 2026. It is now important to "provide concrete support for people at risk of suicide" so that the path to life, rather than death, becomes possible.

Support services for suicidal thoughts: The German Telephone Counseling Service is available free of charge around the clock at 0800 111 0 111 and 0800 111 0 222 or 116 123. Children and young people can contact the "Nummer gegen Kummer" (Number Against Grief) at 116 111.

The Mano platform , which is currently very busy, offers free, anonymous online counseling for people aged 26 and over who are having suicidal thoughts. There is also an online suicide prevention service specifically for young people up to the age of 25 .