The “Mental Health” workshop organized by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) on June 10 in the US said that Latin America is the region most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic globally with more than 32% of deaths, while the pandemic has also “exposed” regional issues such as public health policies and ineffective international cooperation capacity in dealing with issues during and after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Covid-19 has a serious impact on health. Illustration photo: VNA

Speaking at the meeting, PAHO Director-General Jarbas Barbosa pointed out that the impact of the pandemic on mental health in Latin America became severe from the early stages of the region's declaration of a public health emergency in 2020, and this situation has not improved throughout the post-pandemic recovery process.

In this region of 640 million people, the effects of unemployment, loss of loved ones and property, as well as economic instability have left a large number of people emotionally overwhelmed, leading to serious and multidimensional mental health problems.

According to the PAHO Director-General, a recent study by the High-Level Panel on Mental Health in the Post-Covid-19 period found that depression and anxiety are common conditions, affecting about 20% of the population in the region. This is also the reason why the suicide rate has increased by 7% in recent times, while the rate in the world is on a downward trend.

In addition, lack of timely treatment and care is also a serious problem. According to the regional agency of the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2020, more than 80% of people with serious mental health conditions, including psychosis, did not receive appropriate treatment.

VNA