January 28, 2005: Headlines: Lariam: Malaria: Safety and Security of Volunteers: Editor and Publisher: Did UPI Reporting Help Cut Suicides Among U.S. Soldiers in Iraq?
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January 28, 2005: Headlines: Lariam: Malaria: Safety and Security of Volunteers: Editor and Publisher: Did UPI Reporting Help Cut Suicides Among U.S. Soldiers in Iraq?
Did UPI Reporting Help Cut Suicides Among U.S. Soldiers in Iraq?
Did UPI Reporting Help Cut Suicides Among U.S. Soldiers in Iraq?
Did UPI Reporting Help Cut Suicides Among U.S. Soldiers in Iraq?
By E&P Staff
Published: January 28, 2005 1:00 PM ET
NEW YORK UPI reports today that the number of suicides by soldiers serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom dropped last year by at least half, from 24 in 2003 to just nine in 2004, with three other deaths last year still under investigation. Part of the reason for this welcome trend might very well rest with some of UPI's reporting in the past.
Asked why the suicide rate fell so much, Army spokeswoman Martha Rudd told UPI: "It's really not possible to tell. We think some of the efforts we've made over there are paying off, but also that the news coverage of the issue last year really elevated the level of attention paid to this." She said the military's efforts included putting mental-health workers closer to troops, training soldiers to spot those at risk for suicide and installing a countrywide coordinator to deal with combat stress.
UPI had taken the lead in 2003 (as E&P noted at the time) in reporting on the troubling surge in suicides among soldiers in Iraq or who had served in Iraq.
But there's another possibility, also tied to UPI reporting.
Last year the Army largely quit using an anti-malaria drug called Lariam in Iraq that has been linked to depression, hallucinations, psychosis and rare reports of suicide. It was widely prescribed in Iraq in 2003 and again, UPI had highlighted the potential problems.
Eleven of the 24 confirmed suicides in Iraq in 2003 were by soldiers in units where the drug, known generically as mefloquine, was prescribed to at least some soldiers, UPI says.
The Pentagon announced last February that it is investigating whether there is a link between the drug and soldier suicides. But it defended Lariam as highly effective and safe for soldiers to take. The Army said the suicides were linked to "failed personal relationships, financial crises, legal difficulties and mental problems like depression and psychosis" -- the same factors that trigger suicide in the general public.
E&P Staff (letters@editorandpublisher.com)
When this story was posted in January 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:
| Ask Not As our country prepares for the inauguration of a President, we remember one of the greatest speeches of the 20th century and how his words inspired us. "And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." |
| Latest: RPCVs and Peace Corps provide aid Peace Corps made an appeal last week to all Thailand RPCV's to consider serving again through the Crisis Corps and more than 30 RPCVs have responded so far. RPCVs: Read what an RPCV-led NGO is doing about the crisis an how one RPCV is headed for Sri Lanka to help a nation he grew to love. Question: Is Crisis Corps going to send RPCVs to India, Indonesia and nine other countries that need help? |
| The World's Broken Promise to our Children Former Director Carol Bellamy, now head of Unicef, says that the appalling conditions endured today by half the world's children speak to a broken promise. Too many governments are doing worse than neglecting children -- they are making deliberate, informed choices that hurt children. Read her op-ed and Unicef's report on the State of the World's Children 2005. |
| Our debt to Bill Moyers Former Peace Corps Deputy Director Bill Moyers leaves PBS next week to begin writing his memoir of Lyndon Baines Johnson. Read what Moyers says about journalism under fire, the value of a free press, and the yearning for democracy. "We have got to nurture the spirit of independent journalism in this country," he warns, "or we'll not save capitalism from its own excesses, and we'll not save democracy from its own inertia." |
| Is Gaddi Leaving? Rumors are swirling that Peace Corps Director Vasquez may be leaving the administration. We think Director Vasquez has been doing a good job and if he decides to stay to the end of the administration, he could possibly have the same sort of impact as a Loret Ruppe Miller. If Vasquez has decided to leave, then Bob Taft, Peter McPherson, Chris Shays, or Jody Olsen would be good candidates to run the agency. Latest: For the record, Peace Corps has no comment on the rumors. |
| The Birth of the Peace Corps UMBC's Shriver Center and the Maryland Returned Volunteers hosted Scott Stossel, biographer of Sargent Shriver, who spoke on the Birth of the Peace Corps. This is the second annual Peace Corps History series - last year's speaker was Peace Corps Director Jack Vaughn. |
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