Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev has proposed three days of nationwide prayer in a move intended to curb the recent surge in suicides in the country.

Plevneliev met Thursday with representatives of several major religious communities in Bulgaria – Orthodox Christians, Muslims, Jews, Catholics, Evangelists and members of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

“We, Bulgarians, need to have more hope and believe in our well-being and success. As we are overcoming our obstacles, we should draw our lessons and believe more,” Plevneliev said after the meeting, according to the Bulgarian National Radio.

All religious officials expressed their support for Plevneliev’s prayer initiative.

A nationwide a suicide prevention campaign was launched in Bulgaria at the end of March amid what local media describe as a worrying surge in suicides – most of them appearing to be poverty-driven.

A total of six people set themselves on fire EU’s poorest member state over the past few weeks. Four of them passed away.