'Major' mental health crisis looming from pandemic: U.N.
16 May, 2020
The coronavirus outbreak risks sparking a significant global mental health crisis, the United Nations warned Thursday, calling for urgent action to address the psychological suffering due to the pandemic.
While protecting physical health has been the main concern through the first months of the crisis, additionally it is putting huge mental strains on large swathes of the global population, the U.N. said in policy brief.
"After decades of neglect and underinvestment in mental health services, the COVID-19 pandemic is now hitting families and communities with additional mental stress," U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned in a video message launching the brief.
"Even though the pandemic is brought in order, grief, anxiety and depression will continue steadily to affect persons and communities," he said.
The U.N. brief highlighted the mental strains on people fearing that they or loved kinds will be infected or die from the novel coronavirus, which has killed practically 300,000 persons worldwide because it first emerged in China late this past year.
In addition, it pointed to the psychological impact on vast numbers of individuals who've lost or are at risk of losing their livelihoods, have already been separated from loved ones or have suffered under drastic lockdown orders.
"We know that the existing situations, worries and uncertainty, the monetary turmoil -- each of them cause or might lead to psychological distress," Devora Kestel, head of the World Health Organization's mental health and substance use department, told a virtual briefing.
Health care employees and first responders -- operating under "tremendous stress" -- are particularly vulnerable, Kestel said, pointing to news reports indicating rises in suicides among medical workers.
A complete host of other groups also face particular psychological challenges due to the crisis.
Children being kept out of school, for example, face uncertainty and anxiety.
Along with women, in addition they face a heightened risk of domestic abuse as persons spend lengthy amounts of time cooped up in the home.
The elderly and persons with pre-existing conditions, who are believed particularly at risk from the virus, meanwhile face increased stress over the risk of infection.
And people with pre-existing psychological issues could see them exacerbated, while accessing their usual treatment and face-to-face remedy may no more be possible.
Thursday's policy brief pointed to a variety of national studies indicating that mental distress is mounting rapidly.
One study conducted in the Amhara region of Ethiopia showed that 33 percent of the populace were suffering from depression-linked symptoms -- "a three-fold increase" from before the pandemic.
Other studies indicated that mental distress prevalence amid the crisis was as high as 60 percent in Iran and 45 percent in the usa, Kestel said.
She also pointed to a Canadian study showing nearly half of healthcare personnel said they needed psychological support.
The U.N. brief stressed the necessity for countries to add usage of psychosocial support and emergency mental care in all respects of their response to the pandemic.
It called for a significant hike in investments in this area, pointing out that prior to the crisis, countries on average dedicated only two percent of their public health budgets to mental health support.
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