Classroom teaching (archive picture, April 2020)
Photo:
Bodo Schackow / dpa
According to a survey by the United Nations Children’s Fund Unicef, every fifth person between the ages of 15 and 24 often feels depressed or has little interest in to do something. The organization interviewed teenagers and young adults in 21 countries. In Germany, this was even stated by one in four of the young people surveyed (24 percent).
Unicef makes a direct reference to the effects of the pandemic: »According to the latest Available data from Unicef worldwide, at least one in seven children is directly affected by lockdowns, while more than 1.6 billion children have suffered some educational loss young people fear, anger and worry about their future.
More on the subject
Unicef Executive Director Henrietta Fore said: “The impact on children and adolescents is serious. At the same time, they are only the tip of the iceberg, because far too many children were suffering from psychological stresses before the pandemic that were not taken into account. Governments are not investing enough in mental health to meet the great need for help. Not enough importance is attached to the connection between mental health and later life. “
Fight stigmata, promote education
Unicef relies on current estimates that one in seven young people between the ages of 10 and 19 lives with a diagnosed mental impairment or disorder. That corresponds to 80 million young people between the ages of 10 and 14 and 86 million adolescents between the ages of 15 and 19. Suicide is the fourth most common cause of death in the age group between 15 and 19 after traffic accidents, tuberculosis and acts of violence.
In the report, Unicef also highlights the economic disadvantages of mental illness. The London School of Economics, for example, has estimated that in economies there is damage of almost $ 390 billion per year due to mental disorders that lead to disability or death in young people.
The organization calls for more investment in the mental health of Children and adolescents. In addition, “the silence about mental illnesses must be broken, stigmata fought and education in the area of mental health promoted”.
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