World Suicide Prevention Day: What CALM’s Project 84 Teaches Health Communicators
Published · By Gaurav Phogat
World Suicide Prevention Day falls on 10 September. The campaign I find most instructive, CALM’s Project 84 in London, was not timed to the day, but it turned a statistic into something people could see, and it helped bring about the UK’s first minister for suicide prevention. The lesson: on this subject, the ask must be specific (talk, get help, change policy), and the care in how you say it matters as much as the idea.
If you or someone you know is struggling, in India you can call Tele-MANAS on 14416. It is a free, 24×7 government tele-mental health helpline offering counselling in 20 languages (PIB, MoHFW via PIB).
New to the topic? Start here: PR & Communications sets out the reading order.
A note on how this article is written: it follows the spirit of WHO’s guidance for media professionals on suicide (WHO, 2023). It describes the campaign without imagery of methods or locations and focuses on help and prevention.
About World Suicide Prevention Day
World Suicide Prevention Day is observed every year on 10 September. It was established in 2003 by the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) together with the World Health Organization (IASP). The theme for 2024 to 2026 is “Changing the Narrative on Suicide” (IASP, WHO). The day asks individuals, communities, organisations and governments to talk openly and honestly about mental health and suicide, to check in on friends and family, to share stories of hope, and to push for policies and services that put mental health first. For a hospital, the role is clear: point people to help, train staff to listen, and communicate with care.
Project 84: making a weekly statistic visible
| Campaign | Project 84 |
|---|---|
| Organisation | CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably), with ITV and This Morning |
| Agency | adam&eveDDB (with sculptor Mark Jenkins) |
| Year and country | 26 March to 1 April 2018, London, UK |
| Linked health day | World Suicide Prevention Day (10 September) |
| Timed to the day? | No |
| Channels | Public art installation, TV (ITV’s This Morning), PR, posters, online, a petition |
| Headline result | About 400,000 petition signatures; the UK’s first Minister for Suicide Prevention; CALM helpline calls up 41% year on year in March |
| Recognition | Nine D&AD Pencils, including Yellow Pencils; IPA Effectiveness Awards Bronze (2020) |
The problem it had to solve
In the UK, 84 men die by suicide every week, about 4,500 a year (D&AD). The number was known, but silence around male suicide meant it stayed abstract. CALM wanted the public, the media and the government to treat it as the emergency it was, and to make it easier for men to ask for help.
The idea in one line
Give each of the 84 men a week a physical presence, so the statistic could no longer be ignored.
How it worked
The American artist Mark Jenkins made 84 life-size sculptures, installed for a week on ITV’s building on London’s South Bank (D&AD). Friends and families who had lost someone to suicide took part in workshops and helped produce the sculptures (LBB Online). ITV’s This Morning gave three days of programming to male suicide, including interviews with the families. The installation then led into the ask: a Change.org petition calling for government ministerial responsibility for suicide prevention and bereavement support (D&AD). The project took 18 months from first presentation to launch.
Results
The petition gathered about 400,000 signatures and is credited with leading to the appointment of the UK’s first Minister for Suicide Prevention and the first cross-government suicide prevention plan. CALM’s helpline calls in March rose 41% year on year, estimated at 3,666 more men reaching out (D&AD). The IPA effectiveness case, written by the agency and client, put the budget at £100,000 and claims 283 suicides prevented (IPA). Treat that last figure with caution: it is a modelled, self-reported estimate, not a measured count, and policy change had many contributors.
What makes it stand out
- Insight: a number becomes real when you can count it with your own eyes.
- The families’ involvement made each figure a person, not a symbol.
- A precise behaviour ask: sign one petition for one policy change.
- A media partner (ITV) supplied both the site and the airtime.
- A small budget, by the IPA case’s figure, leveraged through earned media.
Criticism and limits
The main tension is the one any visual work on suicide faces. WHO’s media guidance warns that some coverage of suicide can do harm, while stories of hope and recovery are linked to fewer suicides (WHO, 2023). A striking public installation is powerful precisely because it is hard to look away from, and that cuts both ways for vulnerable viewers. The strongest impact claims (suicides prevented, societal payback) come from the owners’ own effectiveness paper. And the work had the backing of a national broadcaster and 18 months of preparation, which few organisations can match.
Would it pass in India today?
As a charity awareness and advocacy campaign, nothing in the NMC 2026 guidelines would stop it: it promotes no doctor or service. A hospital is a different case. Using bereaved families’ stories to promote a hospital’s psychiatry department would conflict with clauses 8.1(ii) and 8.1(v) of the NMC 2026 guidelines, and clause 6.2 says consent does not fix that. A hospital can lawfully run health education and mark the day under clause 8.2, and list its mental health services factually under 8.3 and 9.1. It should also follow WHO’s media guidance, always show a helpline, and avoid any imagery of methods or locations.
Watch or see the campaign: D&AD case study: Project 84
What an Indian hospital can borrow for World Suicide Prevention Day
- “Ask, listen, connect” explainer posts (Low: under Rs 1 lakh). Channel: Instagram carousels, LinkedIn and WhatsApp channel in the week of 10 September. Your psychiatrists and psychologists explain, in their own names, how to check in on someone and where to get help, with Tele-MANAS 14416 on every post. Compliance: health education is allowed under clause 8.2 of the NMC 2026 guidelines; no patient stories (8.1(ii)); follow WHO media guidance on language and imagery.
- Staff and community gatekeeper training (Mid: Rs 1 to 10 lakh). Channel: a registration page, college and workplace partnerships, and a recorded webinar series. Train non-clinical staff, teachers and HR teams to notice distress and connect people to help. Compliance: registrations need clear, purpose-specific consent and careful handling of any sensitive data under the DPDP Act; describe the programme factually (8.3, 9.1).
- Make the help visible (High: above Rs 10 lakh). Channel: outdoor, metro and digital placements around campuses and transit hubs, borrowing Project 84’s logic of turning an abstract need into something you see, but carrying only hope and a helpline. Compliance: no imagery of methods or locations (WHO guidance); no claims about your outcomes (ASCI); label any AI-generated visuals (clause 7.2).
Related reading
- Health awareness days in India: the full calendar
- Iconic Health Campaigns: the series hub
- Healthcare content marketing
- NMC advertising guidelines 2026, explained
Sources
- IASP: World Suicide Prevention Day 2024 to 2026
- WHO: World Suicide Prevention Day 2024
- WHO: Preventing suicide, a resource for media professionals (2023)
- PIB: Tele-MANAS backgrounder (2024)
- PIB: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare release on Tele-MANAS
- D&AD: Project 84 case study
- LBB Online: CALM and Mark Jenkins installation
- IPA: CALM effectiveness case study
Questions people ask
IASP’s theme for 2024 to 2026 is “Changing the Narrative on Suicide”. It asks people to replace silence and stigma with open, hopeful conversations and better support.
The UK charity CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) created Project 84 with the agency adam&eveDDB, sculptor Mark Jenkins and broadcaster ITV. It ran in London from 26 March to 1 April 2018.
It made a weekly statistic visible, involved bereaved families, and linked the attention to one clear ask: a petition for ministerial responsibility. About 400,000 people signed, and the UK appointed its first Minister for Suicide Prevention.
Share doctor-led education on how to support someone, show a helpline on every post, train staff and partners, and follow WHO media guidance. Avoid patient stories and any imagery of methods or locations.
If you need to talk to someone, in India you can call Tele-MANAS on 14416, free and 24×7.
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