London (CNN) The number of people worldwide who die from suicide is declining but one person still kills themselves every 40 seconds, according to new figures from the World Health Organization, which said countries needed to do more to stop these preventable deaths.

Between 2010 and 2016, the global suicide rate decreased by 9.8%, the UN health body said in its second report on the issue. The only region to see an increase was the Americas.

"Every death is a tragedy for family, friends and colleagues. Yet suicides are preventable. We call on all countries to incorporate proven suicide prevention strategies into national health and education programs in a sustainable way," said WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

WHO said close to 800,000 people die by suicide every year, more than those lost to malaria, breast cancer, or war and homicide, calling it a "serious global public health issue." It said only 38 countries had suicide prevention strategies.

Suicide rates were higher than the global, age-standardized average -- 10.5 per 100,000 people -- in Africa, Europe and Southeast Asia.

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