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GENEVA: The coronavirus outbreak is at risk of triggering a major global mental health crisis, the United Nations warned on Thursday (May 14), calling for urgent measures to address the psychological suffering caused by the pandemic.
While protecting physical health has been the main concern during the first months of the crisis, it is also generating enormous mental strain on large sectors of the world population, the UN said in a policy report.
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“After decades of neglect and underinvestment in mental health services, the COVID-19 pandemic is now hitting families and communities with additional mental stress,” warned UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in a video message that released the report.
“Even when the pandemic is under control, pain, anxiety and depression will continue to affect people and communities,” he said.
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The UN report highlighted mental strains in people who fear they or their loved ones will become infected or die from the new coronavirus, which has killed nearly 300,000 people worldwide since its appearance in China later in the year. past.
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He also noted the psychological impact on large numbers of people who have lost or are at risk of losing their livelihoods, have been separated from loved ones, or have suffered under drastic blocking orders.
People wait in line as members of the United States Army National Guard distribute food and other essentials to people in need at a food pantry in the Brooklyn district of New York AFP / Angela Weiss
“TREMENDOUS STRESS”
“We know that current situations, fear and uncertainty, the economic crisis, all cause or could cause psychological distress,” said Devora Kestel, head of the department of mental health and substance use at the World Health Organization, in a virtual conference.
Health workers and first responders, who operate under “tremendous stress,” are particularly vulnerable, Kestel said, pointing to news reports indicating increases in suicides among medical workers.
A large number of other groups also face particular psychological challenges brought on by the crisis.
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Children who are kept out of school, for example, face uncertainty and anxiety.
Along with women, they also face an increased risk of domestic abuse as people spend a lot of time locked up in their homes.
Meanwhile, older people and people with pre-existing conditions, who are considered particularly at risk from the virus, face increased stress from the threat of infection.
And people with pre-existing psychological issues may see them exacerbated, while access to their usual treatment and face-to-face therapy may no longer be possible.
Thursday’s policy report pointed to a series of national studies indicating that mental anguish is increasing rapidly.
A study conducted in the Amhara region of Ethiopia showed that 33 percent of the population suffered from depression-related symptoms, “a three-fold increase” before the pandemic.
Other studies indicated that the prevalence of mental distress in the midst of the crisis was as high as 60 percent in Iran and 45 percent in the United States, Kestel said.
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He also noted a Canadian study that showed that nearly half of health workers said they needed psychological support.
The UN report emphasized the need for countries to include access to psychosocial support and emergency mental care in all aspects of their response to the pandemic.
He called for a significant increase in investments in this area, noting that before the crisis, countries on average devoted only two percent of their public health budgets to mental health support.
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