A scientific statement published by WHO stated that only in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the occurrence for anxiety and depression increased by 25% globally. Various countries were alarmed by this situation resulting to 90% to include combatting of mental health in their response plans, however major gaps are still evident. WHO Director General, mentioned how this data represent just ‘the tip of the iceberg’ and that counties should undergo major changes regarding their mental health systems.

People internationally were forced to encounter multiple stress factors daily as a result of the pandemic. Some of these elements were: fear of infection, fear of infecting loved ones, loneliness, financial worries as well as grief. Excessive workload affected negatively the mental state of health workers. The most recent Global Burden of Disease study presents how young people and women have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. It is quite obvious that such consequences resulted from major gaps in healthcare.

In order to learn more about how mental health has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic visit the link: https://www.who.int/news/item/02-03-2022-covid-19-pandemic-triggers-25-increase-in-prevalence-of-anxiety-and-depression-worldwide