Home » Health » UNICEF warns of serious implications for children’s mental health a year after the pandemic

UNICEF warns of serious implications for children’s mental health a year after the pandemic

Posted in: 04/03/2021 – 12:40

As we approach the first anniversary of the Corona pandemic, the United Nations Children’s Fund “UNICEF” issued a report on Thursday, March 4, 2021, urging more investment in mental health services and warning of the repercussions of the epidemic on children in particular.

At least one in seven children, or 332 million globally, has lived under quarantine and home stay policies for at least nine months since the start of the Corona pandemic.

As nearly all children experience some form of intermittent lockdown in 2020, a new analysis by UNICEF, which uses data from Oxford Government Response Tracker Covid-19, Outlines some of the most persistent conditions of lockdown around the world.

According to the report, 139 million children lived in “obligatory stay at home” conditions, with few exceptions, including children living in countries such as Nigeria, Peru and Paraguay. The rest, 193 million children, lived under “recommended quarantine policies” nationwide for the same period of time.

The implications of the epidemic on mental health

“With the closures and restrictions imposed on movement linked to the epidemic, a long and heavy year has passed for us, especially for children,” said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore.

“Many children feel fear, loneliness and anxiety, and we must get out of this epidemic with a better approach to the mental health of children and adolescents, and this begins with giving this matter the attention it deserves,” she added.

As the epidemic enters its second year, its impact on the mental health and psychosocial well-being of children and young people is taking a heavy toll.

A recent UNICEF survey in Latin America and the Caribbean found that more than a quarter of young people experienced anxiety and 15 per cent suffered from depression.

The report stated that a large number of children who suffer violence, neglect or abuse at home, are stranded with bad individuals and without the support of educational frameworks, families and communities. Children in vulnerable populations, such as those living and working on the streets, children with disabilities and children living in war zones, are at risk of “completely ignoring” their mental health needs.

High demand for mental health services

According to the World Health Organization, the Corona pandemic has disrupted or stopped critical mental health services in 93 percent of countries around the world, while the demand for mental health support is increasing.

A study of 194 cities in China found that 16 percent of respondents reported moderate or very severe depressive symptoms during the epidemic, and 28 percent experienced moderate to severe anxiety symptoms.

In response, UNICEF supports governments and partner organizations to prioritize and adapt services for children. For example, in Kazakhstan, the organization launched a service platform that provides online individual counseling and advice to children, as well as remote training in schools for mental health professionals.

In China, it launched UNICEF and the social media company Kuaishou Online challenge to help reduce anxiety in children.

Later in 2021, UNICEF will devote in its biennial flagship report, The State of the World’s Children, to the mental health of children and adolescents, with the aim of increasing awareness of the global challenge that has resulted from the Corona epidemic, lockdown measures, etc., and to provide solutions and encourage governments to focus more on this issue. .

– .

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.