DUSHANBE, August 4, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- Representatives of a number of ministries and organizations will meet to discuss the increasing problem of suicide in the country.

Speaking in an interview with Asia-Plus, Anvar Yusupov, a spokesman for the Ministry of Culture (MoC), said that a roundtable meeting formally titled “Negative Phenomenon of Society and Ways to Prevent It” would be held at the National Firdavsi Public Library in Dushanbe on August 11.

The meeting participants include representatives from the Prosecutor-General’s Office, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, the Committee for Youth, Sports and tourism Affairs, Tajik Islamic Institute, etc.

The main objective of the meeting is in finding out the reason for increase in the number of suicides and discussing ways to stem the increase in the number of suicides in the country, the MoC spokesman said.

Officials blame economic problems and the country’s low standard of living: Tajikistan is one of the poorest of the former Soviet republics, and the minimum monthly wage is about $15.