"Tell my wife that I love her."
The last words uttered by an isolated Italian pensioner in ICU at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic echo the anguish and loss of families and children around the world. With global deaths surpassing the 1 million mark and total cases approaching 36 million, we are experiencing the greatest shared psychological suffering since World War II.
The uncertainty, isolation and loss around COVID-19 are deeply affecting children around the world. Over the past six months, parents, teachers, and child care providers around the world have asked a lot of our children: to stay home, wait, wash hands and wear masks, and be brave in the face of endless uncertainty.
None of these pressures come without consequences: all together could affect the social and emotional development and well-being of an entire generation.
Rethink wellness
But in our darkest moments, we often find light. The decades that followed World War II saw the beginning of an unprecedented period of innovation and collaboration. The Child Survival Revolution, an effort led by UNICEF in conjunction with other organizations, brought global access to vaccines, oral rehydration, clean water and better nutrition to many poorer nations, driving a five-fold decline in infant mortality in a few decades.
In the same spirit of cooperation and given the extraordinary burden on children today, we need a similar effort for mental health. We must begin to prioritize the mental health and well-being of children by demanding greater investment.
Why we need a revolution
While the coronavirus pandemic has highlighted structural violence, racism, poverty, and humanitarian crises as major risk factors for the mental health of children and adolescents, the topic remains largely taboo. Most countries have never had a national conversation about mental health, while related services are still significantly underfunded in almost all countries, rich or poor. People seeking help face stigma and often have difficulty accessing basic mental health services and services. In Africa, there is one mental health professional for every 100,000 people.