At least 332 million children in total they have lived under national policies of confinement mandatory or recommended for at least nine months from the beginning of the pandemic, Which has put his at risk mental health and their well-being, he warned Unicef.
At least 1 in 7 children has been confined most of last year
Like adults, almost everyone minors of the world have lived some form of confinement intermittent during 2019. The new analysis of Unicef, Made from Government Response Tracker data in the Covid-19 of Oxford, has identified some of the conditions of confinement more durable worldwide.
According to the analysis, 139 million minors globally they have lived below confinement mandatory for at least 9 months since the Covid-19 was declared as pandemic on March 11, 2020, that is, they had to stay home, except for a few exceptions such as minors living in countries like Paraguay, Peru and Nigeria.
Therefore, the rest of this total of 332 million -193 million- has lived under national recommendations to stay at home during this same space of time, which has undoubtedly affected them.
Unicef urges greater investment in health services
The executive director of Unicef, Henrietta Fore, has assured that “With the confinements national and movement limitations arising from the pandemic, It has been a long year for all of us, but especially for the children”.
He also pointed out that “When – day after day – you are away from your friends and loved ones, and maybe even trapped at home with an aggressor, the impact is significant. children they have been abandoned feeling fear, loneliness, anxiety and concern for their future. We have to get out of this pandemic with a better approach to the mental health of the children and teenagers, and that starts by giving the issue the attention it deserves. ”
Now that the pandemic situation has exceeded 12 months, the impact on the mental health and the welfare psychosocial minors i teens begins to take its toll. This has been reflected in a study, specifically a recent survey by Unicef U-Report addressed to teens in Latin America and the Caribbean, which garnered more than 8,000 responses, revealed that more than a quarter of respondents had experienced anxiety, And 15% depression.
1 in 4 lives with a parent who has a mental disorder
According to a statement from the organization, the minors i teens they bore the brunt of the risks of the mental health even before the pandemic, as half of all mental disorders they develop before the age of 15 and 75% before early adulthood. Most of the 800,000 people who are they commit suicide every year they are young, and the self-injury are the third cause of mortality between the teens 15 to 19 years, with the highest rates among teenage girls. It is estimated that globally 1 in 4 children live with a parent who has a mental disorder, he noted Unicef.
Isolation has caused many minors to experience violence, negligence He abuse at home, at the mercy of his abusers and without the support of teachers, Family environment and communities. the minors of population groups vulnerable -like those who live and work on the street-, the minors with disabilities and those living in situations of conflict they run the risk of their needs health go completely unnoticed.
According to the WHO, the pandemic of Covid-19 has altered or disrupted essential health services in 93% of countries around the world, while the demand for support to the health is growing. In a study conducted in 194 cities of China, 16% of respondents reported symptoms of depression from moderate to severe during the pandemic, And 28% symptoms of anxiety from moderate to severe.
Unicef launches a platform of individual counseling services
To try to solve the problem, Unicef is supporting allied governments and organizations to prioritize and adapt to minors the services they provide. For example, Unicef Kazakhstan has launched a platform on line of individual counseling services for minors, In addition to providing distance learning for specialists in mental health in schools. In China, Unicef and social media company Kuaishou launched an online challenge to help reduce the anxiety in the minors.
Also, by the end of 2021, Unicef he will dedicate one of his flagship reports, the so-called World State of Children, which is published every two years, at the welfare of teens. It is part of the organization’s efforts to raise awareness of this global challenge, propose solutions, and urge governments to pay more attention to the problem.
Fore has insisted that “Countries need to invest significantly in expanding services mental health and support for teens and their caregivers in communities and schools. We also need extended parenting programs to ensure that the children of vulnerable families get the support and protection they need in their homes. “