Africa-Press – Mauritius. <\/strong><\/span>A top official at the World Health Organization has labeled mental health challenges as the “next pandemic” on the global horizon.<\/p>\n\u201cMental health issues (are what) I call the next pandemic. We are working together to strengthen the mental health of the population,\u201d WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge told Anadolu.<\/p>\n
Everyone in the world, particularly the youth, has been in lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected the mental health of the people, Kluge said.<\/p>\n
He said anxiety and sleeping problems were a common problem in youth which have to be addressed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe latest data from the EU shows that one out of six people in the EU has some distress, anxiety, and sleeping problems,\u201d he said, highlighting that in certain countries, even the youngest children spend approximately six hours a day in front of screens.<\/p>\n
He said they are exposed to all kinds of \u201cunregulated advertising or violence\u201d or sometimes a picture symbolizing \u201ca perfect body\u201d that triggers their anxiety.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe youth is anxious about the climate. They know that the world is heating up everywhere. There are wars between Russia and Ukraine, and Israel and Gaza. The people are busy with that. We are living in what I call a \u2018permacrisis.\u2019 There is a permanent crisis and for people, this impacts the mental status,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u2018Peace, permanent cease-fire in Gaza is the most important medicine\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n
Regarding the Israeli attacks in Gaza, Kluge said: \u201cWhat we need most urgent is peace.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPeace and a permanent cease-fire is the most important medicine because when there is a war and hospitals are being destroyed, of course, there is a breeding ground for infectious diseases, for mental diseases. Of course, a very basic need is food. This is very important,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The WHO is trying to do whatever it can, also helping to evacuate children with cancer from Gaza, he added.<\/p>\n
He added that Turkish first lady Emine Erdogan and Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca immediately accepted the request for help in evacuating 20 children with cancer from Gaza.<\/p>\n
He said Belgium and Spain also started to assist in the evacuation of the children.<\/p>\n
\u201cWHO advocates for a cease-fire, not to attack hospitals because this is a big issue. At the same time, all hostages have to be returned and while they are in captivity, they must have to access medical care. The principle of WHO is health for all, we cannot politicize health,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip in retaliation for an Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas which killed about 1,200 people.<\/p>\n
More than 34,900 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, mostly women and children, and 78,100 others injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.<\/p>\n
Over seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave\u2019s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine, according to the UN.<\/p>\n
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January said it is “plausible” that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and ordered Tel Aviv to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.<\/p>\n
Relations with Tu\u0308rkiye<\/b><\/p>\n
On the WHO\u2019s relations with Tu\u0308rkiye, Kluge said Tu\u0308rkiye has the largest number of WHO offices in the whole region.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have the country office in Ankara, we have the WHO European Center on Preparedness for Natural Disasters office. We have an office in Gaziantep which is providing a lot of humanitarian assistance to the people in northwestern Syria,\u201d he said, adding that they have a strong solid collaboration with Tu\u0308rkiye.<\/p>\n
\u201cTu\u0308rkiye has a lot of experience. We worked day to day, day and night together when the tragic earthquake happened about a year ago for surveillance and training of health workers…,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Speculations on COVID-19 vaccines<\/b><\/p>\n
Regarding the COVID-19 vaccines, he reassured all the people that there is a very rigid procedures to certify a certain vaccine which has to undergo strict regulatory procedures looking at the effectiveness, looking at toxicity, and looking at side effects.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhenever WHO is certifying a vaccine, it is to be considered safe and effective. Now I do understand the concern of many people. Because usually, it takes about 10 years to develop a new vaccine. During the COVID-19 pandemic, after one and a half years, not one but up to four vaccines were developed already,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He added that those vaccines were developed based on a certain platform of technology that was already there.<\/p>\n
Warning about the fake news, and anti-vaccination movement, he said he spoke with people who do not want to be vaccinated although they are not anti-vaxxers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are people who have legitimate concerns. The right information did not reach them,\u201d he said, adding that people could rely on \u201ctrusted messengers in the community\u201d who have the trust of the community to explain that vaccines save lives.<\/p>\n
For More News And Analysis About Mauritius<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"*Writing by Gozde Bayar Africa-Press – Mauritius. A top official at the World Health Organization has labeled mental health challenges as the “next pandemic” on the global horizon. \u201cMental health issues (are what) I call the next pandemic. We are working together to strengthen the mental health of the population,\u201d WHO Regional Director for Europe […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":40948,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[233,245,3021,2576,3019,804,241,3020,687,416,786],"class_list":["post-40949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-mauritius","tag-covid-19-pandemic","tag-gaza","tag-hans-kluge","tag-lockdown","tag-mauritius","tag-mental-issues","tag-pandemic","tag-vaccines","tag-who"],"yoast_head":"\n
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