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 coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) in Geneva, Switzerland, January 21, 2021.
Christopher Black | WHO | via Reuters
The Covid-19 pandemic caused massive trauma on a larger scale than World War II, and the impact will last “for many years,” said a senior World Health Organization official on Friday.
“After World War II, the world experienced massive trauma, because World War II affected many, many lives. And now, even with this Covid pandemic, with greater magnitude, more lives have been affected,” Director-General WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a news conference on Friday. “Almost everyone is affected, every individual on the surface of the world has really been affected.”
“And that means mass trauma, which is beyond proportion, even greater than what the world experienced after World War II,” he added, noting the effect on mental health. “And when there is massive trauma, it affects communities for many years.”
His comments came in response to a question about whether countries should take into account the impact of the pandemic on the economy and mental health as they traced their path. Tedros deputies emphasized 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 terms of the impact this has had on individuals, whether you have lost a loved one, a family member or friend due to this virus. Whether you have lost your job, children who have not attended school, people who are forced to stay at home in very difficult situations. “
Kerkhove added that the world is still in the “acute phase” of the pandemic, when the virus is devastating communities, killing tens of thousands every week. She added, however, that the pandemic’s mental health toll will emerge as a major long-term problem, saying that “there needs to be much more emphasis on the part of governments, communities, families, individuals to take care of our well-being. be. “
Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO health emergency program, urged people to not only highlight the pandemic mental health toll as a problem, but also to discuss solutions.
“It is one thing to say that mental and psychological health are under pressure – that is true – but the opposite of that has to be what we are doing to support and provide psychosocial support to people and communities,” he said.