Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya released the report here on Tuesday.
The report clearly articulated how events in the wider world can affect the world inside our minds. In a UNICEF survey across 21 countries, only 41 per cent of youth in India were willing to seek support for mental health problems, compared to an average of 83 per cent for 21 countries.
Releasing the report, Minister Mandaviya said, “Mental health has been widely discussed in our Sanatan culture and spirituality. The mutual development of mind and body has been explained in our scriptures. Healthy mind resides in a healthy body. We are very pleased that today UNICEF has released a global report on the mental health of children.
The Union Minister further said that as the trend of nuclear family instead of joint family has increased in our society, mental health problems in children have become frequent. “Today parents are not able to give enough time to their child, so we need to talk about mental health,” he said. Gotta take it seriously.”
Mandaviya said, “It is necessary to monitor the mental health of children from time to time to build a better and developed society. For this, arrangements will also have to be made for better mental health of teachers in schools. Because, children trust their teachers the most”.
Sharing his experience, the minister said that as health minister he had to face mental pressure during the second wave.
He continued saying, “People’s problems shook me. After that I started doing yoga and cycling in the morning. I request all of you to also check the problems of your mind and work for its betterment. With yourself Spend enough time at home. Kids. Talk to them in a friendly atmosphere.”
Children in India are hesitant to seek support for mental stress, according to a survey conducted by UNICEF and Gallup in early 2021 with 20,000 children and adults in 21 countries. In India, only 41 percent of youth between the ages of 15-24 said it was good to get help for mental health problems, compared to 83 percent for 21 countries. According to the report, India was one of 21 countries where only minority youth felt that people facing mental health issues should reach out to others. In every other country, a majority of young people (56 to 95 percent) felt it was the best way to deal with mental health issues.
The findings of the survey, which is previewed in The State of the World’s Children 2021, also found that around 14 per cent or 1 in 7 of 15 to 24 year olds in India often felt depressed or too low to do things. showed interest. . The ratio ranged from about one in three in Cameroon, to one in seven in India and Bangladesh, to one in ten in Ethiopia and Japan. In 21 countries, the average was one in five youth.
The report said that as the Covid-19 pandemic enters its third year, the impact on the mental health of children and young people is looming. Through the pandemic, children have had limited access to support from social services due to lockdown measures. Due to routine, education, entertainment as well as family income and health concerns, many young people are feeling fearful, angry and worried about their future.
According to UNESCO data, more than 286 million children up to class 6 were out of school in India between 2020-2021. UNICEF’s rapid assessment in 2021 found that only 60 percent could access digital classrooms. Many people will not be able to continue their education.
The report said that even before the Covid-19 crisis, children and youth carried the burden of mental health conditions without significant investment in addressing them.
According to the latest available estimates, more than 1 in 7 adolescents aged 10–19 are estimated to be living with a globally diagnosed mental disorder. According to the report, of these, South Asia had the highest number of adolescents with mental disorders.
In India, children with mental health disorders are mostly undiagnosed and hesitant to seek help or treatment. According to the Indian Journal of Psychiatry in 2019, even before the pandemic, at least 50 million children in India were affected by mental health issues; 80 – 90 per cent have not sought support.
Meanwhile, there remains a wide gap between mental health needs and mental health funding. According to the Indian Journal of Psychiatry 2017, India spends only 0.05 percent of its health budget annually on mental health.
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