Mental health of adults living in the Americas worries PAHO

Due to the confinement due to the pandemic, depression, anxiety, stress and even problems of domestic violence are generated.

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) warned about the mental health of adults in the American continent due to the pandemic.

The entity said that almost half of adults in the United States, Brazil and Mexico suffer from depression, anxiety, stress and even warned of an increase in the indicators of domestic violence.

Since mid-March, when the coronavirus broke into the region, many have felt fear of being infected, grief over the loss of loved ones, uncertainty about the future, overwhelmed by news and misinformation, loneliness due to isolation and social distancing.

But on a continent where mental illness was already “a silent epidemic,” some people have been hit harder.

Carissa Etienne, director of PAHO, regional office of the World Health Organization (WHO) recognized that Covid-19 has caused a mental health crisis in our region on a scale that has never been seen before.

For example, in the United States, Brazil and Mexico, the three American countries hardest hit by the coronavirus, stress has taken hold of half of adults. Added to this is the increase in drug and alcohol use, which can develop mental health problems.

Etienne said that measures to curb infections, added to the social and economic impacts of the virus, are increasing the risks of domestic violence.

“The home is not a safe place for many,” he stressed, pointing to cases of aid for abuses in Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico.

She warned that the problem could be even more serious than is known, due to the interruption of certain support services and the isolation of victims.

The official said that mental health care is very limited and creates a “perfect storm” in many countries.

She made a call to speak openly with the youngest of the family, take the time to listen to them express their feelings, and be in contact via phone or Internet.

She also urged the American countries to join the COVAX initiative, in which participating nations can benefit from access to a portfolio of vaccines from at least 10 producers so that their populations can be immunized as soon as they are available.

The immediate goal of the COVAX initiative is to have agreements with vaccine manufacturers to guarantee about 2 billion doses by the end of 2021.

Similarly, WHO clarified that collective immunity is not the solution to curb the pandemic and recalled that the world is far from achieving such protection.

María Von Kerkhove, from PAHO, added that less than 10% of the world’s population has evidence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2.

According to PAHO, the American continent, which has so far registered almost 11.5 million cases and more than 400 thousand deaths, continues to be the worst hit in the world by Covid-19, with 55% of new infections reported last week .

Etienne added that the American continent has approximately 13% of the world’s population, but so far they account for 64% of the world’s officially reported deaths.

Although the United States and Brazil are the countries most affected by the virus, there is a growing trend in areas that have been stable for several weeks, such as the Caribbean.