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As the first anniversary of the Corona pandemic approaches, United Nations Children’s Fund “UNICEF” released a report on Thursday, March 4, 2021, calling for more investment in mental health services and warning against the repercussions of the epidemic on children in particular.
At least one in seven children, or 332 million worldwide, has lived under quarantine and stay-at-home 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 from UNICEF, which uses data from Monitoring Oxford Government Responses Covid-19, Describes some of the most persistent lockdown conditions in the world.
According to the report, 139 million children were living under “compulsory stay at home” conditions, with a few exceptions, including children living in countries like Nigeria, Peru and Paraguay. The remainder, 193 million children, lived under “recommended quarantine policies” across the country during the same period.
The implications of the epidemic for mental health
“With the closures and travel restrictions associated with the epidemic, a long and difficult year has passed for us, especially for children,” said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore.
“Many children feel fear, loneliness and anxiety, and we need to come out of this epidemic with a better approach to child and youth mental health, and that starts by paying attention to this issue. that it deserves, ”she added.
As the epidemic enters its second year, its impact on the mental health and psychosocial well-being of children and youth is taking its toll.
A recent UNICEF survey in Latin America and the Caribbean found that more than a quarter of young people suffered from anxiety and 15% suffered from depression.
The report states that large numbers of children who suffer from violence, neglect or abuse at home, are stranded with the wrong people and without the support of educational executives, families and communities. Children from vulnerable populations, such as those who live and work on the streets, children with disabilities and children living in war zones, risk “completely ignoring” their mental health needs.
High demand for mental health services
According to the World Health Organization, the Corona pandemic has disrupted or shut down essential mental health services in 93% of countries around the world, while demand for mental health support is increasing.
A study of 194 cities in China found that 16% of those surveyed reported moderate or very severe depressive symptoms during the outbreak, and 28% experienced moderate to severe anxiety symptoms.
In response, UNICEF is helping governments and partner organizations prioritize and adapt services for children. For example, in Kazakhstan, the organization launched a service platform that provides online individual counseling and counseling to children, as well as distance education in schools for mental health professionals.
In China, he launched UNICEF and the social media company Kuaishou Online challenge to help reduce anxiety in children.
Later in 2021, UNICEF will dedicate in its biennial flagship report, The State of the World’s Children, to child and adolescent mental health, with the aim of raising awareness of the global challenge resulting from the Corona epidemic, lockdowns, etc., and provide solutions and encourage governments to focus more on this issue.
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