Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), speaks after Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases during the 148th session of the Executive Council on the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Geneva, Switzerland, January 21, 2021.
Christopher Black | HERE | via Reuters
The Covid-19 pandemic has caused massive trauma on a larger scale than World War II, and the impact will last “for many years,” the World Health Organization chief executive said Friday.
“After World War II, the world has experienced massive trauma, because World War II affected many, many lives. And now, even with this coveted pandemic, to a greater magnitude, they have been affected. more lives, ”WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom told Ghebreyesus at a press conference on Friday. “Almost everyone is affected, all individuals on the surface of the world have been affected.”
“And that means massive trauma, which is disproportionate, even greater than what the world experienced after World War II,” he added, noting the effect on mental health. “And when there’s massive trauma, it affects communities for many years.”
His comments answered a question about whether countries should take more into account the impact of the pandemic on the economy and mental health as they chart their path forward. Tedros MPs stressed that mental health should be prioritized.
“The answer is absolutely yes,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, head of the WHO’s emerging diseases and zoonoses unit. “There are variations in the impact this has had on people, whether you’ve lost a loved one or lost a family member or friend to the virus. Whether you’ve lost your job or not. they have been in school, people who are forced to stay home in very difficult situations. “
Kerkhove added that the world is still in the “acute phase” of the pandemic, when the virus uproots communities and kills tens of thousands each week. He added, however, that the mental health toll of the pandemic will emerge as an important long-term issue, and he said that “governments, communities, families and individuals need to put much more emphasis on caring for our welfare “.
Dr Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO health emergency program, urged people not only to highlight the mental health problem of the pandemic as a problem, but also to discuss solutions.
“It’s one thing to say that there is mental health and that psychological health is under pressure, it’s true, but it should also be the opposite of what we’re doing to support and provide psychosocial support to people and communities,” he said. .