COVID-19 Takes a Serious Hit on Mental Health, WHO

The global Covid-19 pandemic has affected the mental health of millions of people worldwide. Mental health was a neglected issue before the pandemic. Around 75% of the people with mental illness receive no treatment for their condition.

The WHO cites that the COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected the mental health of millions around the globe. Lack of social interaction could be the main reason behind this, according to Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO).

"For many people, the lack of social interaction caused by the pandemic has had a profound effect on their mental health," Tedros said at a virtual press briefing from Geneva on Thursday.

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‘The lack of social interaction due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions has had a profound negative effect on the mental health of the people. Those in facilities like are homes and psychiatric institutions are affected more severely.’
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The WHO chief said that people in long-term facilities such as care homes and psychiatric institutions are at an increased risk of infection, Xinhua news agency reported.

He added that mental health professionals have themselves been infected with the virus, and some mental health facilities have been closed to be converted into treatment facilities for people with Covid-19.

He recalled that mental health was already "a neglected health issue" globally before the pandemic, with close to one billion people living with a mental disorder.

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Yet relatively few people have access to quality mental health services.

"In low- and middle-income countries, more than 75 percent of people with mental, neurological and substance use disorders receive no treatment for their condition at all," Tedros noted.

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He declared that for this year's World Mental Health Day, which falls on October 10, the WHO, together with its partner organizations, United for Global Mental Health and the World Federation for Mental Health, would call for a massive scale-up in investments in mental health.

Source-IANS

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