Covid-19: in Argentina 33% of adolescents feel anxious and 25% are afraid, according to Unicef

Unicef announced on Tuesday part of the “Annual State of Children 2021” report, which will be released next November. There, the United Nations (UN) indicated that a 33% of adolescents in Argentina feel distressed and 25% are afraid, faced with the uncertainty generated by the Covid-19.

“Due to the lockdowns and restrictions linked to the pandemic, children have wasted precious time of their lives away from family, friends, classrooms and play areas, which are very important during childhood.” , he declared to the general director of Unicef ​​Henrietta Fore.

Another of the data provided indicates that containments due to the pandemic have directly affected at least one in seven children all over the planet. In education, over 1.6 billion children have experienced some type of learning loss in school.

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The results are the product of an international survey conducted by Unicef ​​and Gallup among children and adults in 21 countries. From this it also appears that on average 1 in 5 young people (between 15 and 24 years old) indicated that they feel depressed or has little interest in doing some sort of activity.

Among its findings, recent research indicates that adolescents were most affected emotionally, particularly related to losing plans, diminishing their opportunities for participation, and building social bonds.

According to the NA agency, a survey conducted in Argentina into the impact of the pandemic on adolescents showed that the 72% felt the need to ask for some form of support in relation to your emotional well-being.

Teenage suicide

The UNICEF report indicates that almost 46,000 adolescents commit suicide each year, being one of the top five causes of death for this age group.

In 2019, 459 adolescents died in Argentina due to suicide, which accounts for 15% of all adolescent deaths, becoming the first due to causes external to adolescence.

This means that 1.2 adolescents die daily from suicide in the country and that 14% of them are girls and boys aged 10 to 14.

Mental disorders, a pre-pandemic problem

After the presentation of the report, the UN body stressed that the problem of mental disorders in children was serious before 2020, even if it has increased with the health crisis.

In this regard, Fore stressed: “Even before the pandemic, there were already too many children weighed down by the weight of a series of mental health problems that had not been paid attention” and criticized: governments that “Invest too little to meet these basic needs”.

MF CP