According to the WHO, more than a billion people live with a mental health issue as a result of Covid, which is a quarter more than pre-Covid.
It said that the increase among youngsters was significantly higher, ‘possibly reflecting the severe impact of school closures.’
Curbs erected to keep Covid under control resulted in emotions of “social isolation, disconnectedness, and worry about the future,” according to the research.
Despite the WHO praising China’s lockdowns at the outset of the pandemic and warning that lifting precautions too soon in the UK might lead to a ‘deadly resurgence’ in 2020, the admission comes despite the WHO praising China’s lockdowns at the start of the pandemic.
During the epidemic, schools were closed nationwide at least twice, with pupils forced to learn from home due to individual closures.
During the peak of the first wave, more than a hundred countries likewise closed their schools.
The WHO’s mental health and substance abuse division released the World Mental Health Report on June 16.
It was created with the goal of improving mental health around the world by combining the most up-to-date data with case studies from people living with mental illnesses.
According to the report, more than one billion individuals are currently living with a mental health issue, up from more than 25% in the first year of the epidemic.
Anxiety, depression, and developmental abnormalities such as autism are the most common.
Officials noted that children were the ones who were most affected by the limitations, with rates of bullying and abuse at home rising and a lack of social interaction leading to isolation during school closures.
‘Restrictions implemented during the Covid epidemic, for example, had major mental health implications for individuals, including stress, worry, or depression caused by social isolation, disconnectedness, and uncertainty about the future,’ according to the paper.
‘Globally, there was also a higher change in prevalence among younger age groups than among older age groups, possibly reflecting the profound impact of school closures and societal limitations on youth mental health,’ it continued.
‘For some children and adolescents, being forced to stay at home raised their risk of familial stress or abuse, both of which are known risk factors for mental illness.’
The WHO’s mental health and substance use division is in charge of preventing mental, neurological, and substance use disorders, but not of the Covid response.
It was signed by WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who has come under fire for his management of the epidemic, which has been characterized as ‘China-centric,’ with praise lavished on China’s communist party for its reaction to the Covid outbreak.
‘I was really pleased and impressed by the president’s extensive knowledge of the disease and his personal involvement in the pandemic,’ he remarked after meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping in January 20202.
‘This was a once-in-a-lifetime leadership opportunity for me.’
However, in May of this year, he was blocked by Chinese state media for criticizing the country’s current zero Covid policy.
Bullying and sex abuse were identified to be the leading causes of sadness in children around the world, according to the survey.
Prior to the pandemic, the WHO projected that one in every seven children (14%) had a mental health problem.
The paper did not give an estimate for the present rate, but it did say that the global increase of 25% in illnesses was considerably higher among youngsters.
‘Extended school and university closures disrupted routines and social relationships, causing young people to lose out on learning and experiences necessary for healthy growth,’ the report added.
‘Disruption and isolation can exacerbate anxiety, uncertainty, and loneliness, as well as cause affective and behavioral issues.’
In March 2020, Boris Johnson closed England’s 24,000 schools for the first time, with some students returning briefly in June of that year.
Classes were subsequently closed until the beginning of the Alpha wave in January 2021, when they reopened on March 1. Overall, England’s schools were closed for longer than any other European country.
Since then, several studies have revealed that when learning at home, young people’s mental health has deteriorated.
During the first year of lockdowns, nearly five times as many youngsters died from suicide as from the virus, according to a study led by University College London experts.
Last year, more than one million referrals to specialised child mental health services were made, up 15% from the previous year.
According to research published in November in Japan, school closures in 2020 will not prevent the virus from spreading.
In the meantime, nearly half (46%) of children entering reception year in 2020 were not’school ready,’ up from 35% in 2019.
Aside from the impact on people’s mental health, economies around the world are currently seeing the biggest inflation in decades as a result of the economic consequences of shutting down society.
Top scientists, however, believe that lockdowns were critical, especially during the first wave, before vaccines were available, and that they saved thousands of lives.
It comes as a new book claimed that politicians disregarded warnings that ongoing school closures will lead to an increase in children’s mental health issues.
Anne Longfield, then Children’s Commissioner, spent ‘weeks and weeks’ advocating that children should return to school, according to the book authored by the leaders of the UsForThem campaign.
She requested that governments and unions “stop arguing and agree on a plan” in May 2020.
Ms Longfield told the writers that keeping schools closed until the latter weeks of the summer term in 2020 was ‘totally unnecessary.’
‘It created a significant additional damage to those children, was completely irresponsible, and even criminal for those children,’ she said.