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Climate Change: A Growing Mental Health Crisis
A recent report by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (1✔ ✔Trusted SourceIPCC — Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Go to source) revealed that rapidly increasing climate change leads to emotional distress, anxiety, depression, grief, and suicidal behaviour. Yet large gaps exist in mental health needs and the availability and accessibility and services to address them.
‘South-East Asia is the most vulnerable WHO region to #climatechange's impact on #mentalhealth, says WHO. Urgent action needed to strengthen mental health systems. #SEAsia #WHO’
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“Climate change exacerbates many social, environmental, and economic risk factors for mental health and psychosocial well-being,” said Saima Wazed, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia. ![twitter](https://images.medindia.net/icons/news/social/twitter.png)
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“An estimated 260 million people live with a mental health condition and more than 200,000 people die by suicide every year,” she said, noting that climate change is worsening mental health.
It is also putting an extra burden on the health systems, Wazed said.
“There is a large gap in both knowledge of and response to, climate change’s impact on mental health…There is an evident need to bring together climate and mental health officials from member states to ensure accelerated action to adapt and mitigate climate change impacts and prevent further widening of this gap,” Wazed added.
According to a 2021 WHO survey of 95 countries, just 9 had mental health and psychosocial support in their national health and climate change plans.
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Wazed also called for addressing the large gaps in funding both for mental health and for responding to the health impacts of climate change.
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- IPCC — Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - (https://www.ipcc.ch/)