The United Nations has warned that the coronavirus pandemic risks causing a major mental health crisis. Presenting the new UN report and policy guidance on COVID-19 and mental health, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres highlighted how psychological problems such as depression and anxiety “are some of the greatest causes of misery in our world”.
"After decades of neglect and underinvestment in mental health services, the Covid-19 pandemic is now hitting families and communities with additional mental stress," he said in a video message.
"Even when the pandemic is brought under control, grief, anxiety and depression will continue to affect people and communities," he warned.
That message was echoed by Dévora Kestel, Director, Department of Mental Health and Substance Use at the World Health Organisation.
"We know that the current situations, the fear and uncertainty, the economic turmoil - they all-cause or could cause psychological distress", Ms Kestel told a virtual briefing.
Healthcare workers and first responders - operating under "tremendous stress" - are particularly vulnerable, she said, pointing to news reports indicating rises in suicides among medical workers.
She pointed to pass economic crises that had “increased the number of people with mental health issues, leading to higher rates of suicide for example, due to their mental health condition or substance abuse”.
The report named Covid-19 and The Need for Action on Mental Health highlighted several regions and sections of societies as vulnerable to mental distress - including children and young people isolated from friends and school, healthcare workers who are seeing thousands of patients infected with and dying from the new coronavirus.
The UN paper also highlights a warning from The Lancet Commission On Global Mental Health And Sustainable Development, that “many people who previously coped well, are now less able to cope because of the multiple stressors generated by the pandemic”.
All this is understandable, given the many uncertainties facing people, the UN policy brief notes, before identifying the growing use of addictive coping strategies, including alcohol, drugs, tobacco and online gaming.
The UN policy brief pointed to a range of national studies indicating that mental distress is mounting rapidly.
One study conducted in the Amhara region of Ethiopia showed that a third of the population was suffering from depression-linked symptoms - "a three-fold increase" from before the pandemic.
Other studies indicated that mental distress prevalence amid the crisis was as high as 60% in Iran and 45% in the United States, Ms Kestel said.
The UN brief stressed the need for countries to include access to psychosocial support and emergency mental care in all aspects of their response to the pandemic.
It called for a significant hike in investments in this area, pointing out that before the crisis, countries on average dedicated only 2% of their public health budgets to mental health support.