UNICEF report focuses on mental health of children around the globe and how to cope with the problem

Teaching children life skills, and positive interactions with parents or caregivers, teachers, and peers will help children cope up with the challenges, especially as schools reopen, said Rashmi Arun Shami, Principal Secretary, Department of School Education, Government of Madhya Pradesh.

She was speaking at an event organised in Bhopal to launch UNICEF’s The State of World’s Children Report 2021 (SOWC Report 2021).

The SOWC Report 2021 says that children and young people carry the burden of mental health conditions without significant investment in addressing them.

Anil Gulati, Communication Specialist, UNICEF introduced the subject and said that this is the first time that UNICEF has brought its annual report on the theme of mental health.

Nirmala Buch, President, Child Rights Observatory, said that this report will help to bring more attention to the issue of mental health which is often ignored, and stigma attached to it.

COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated anxiety, but it is also an opportunity to speak openly about mental health, work with adolescents and young people and bring about policy changes which can address the challenge, said Buch.

Margaret Gwada, Chief, UNICEF, Madhya Pradesh, said that the report provides a unique opportunity to promote mental health and well-being for every child, protect vulnerable children, and care for children facing the greatest challenges.
 
She said that the report includes surveys by UNICEF across 21 countries; only 41 per cent of young people in India said that it is good to seek support for mental health problems.

Mumbai-based psychiatrist, Dr Harish Shetty, said that there is a need to invest more on mental health.

“We need more field level functionaries who are trained to recognise the mental health challenge and support children and family.  Teachers need to be oriented to understand the symptoms and provide support to children and families.”

Clinical neuropsychologist Farzana Mulla said there are a lot of myths attached to the issue of mental health wherein parents feel and do not want to recognize the issue.
“We need to educate parents on mental health and bring in a change in attitude of parents. We need to stress on recognizing symptoms early” said Mulla.

Dr Sonalee Nargunde, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, DAVV Indore, Abraham Verghese, Head of Department of Social Work, The Bhopal School of Social Sciences, district level child rights forum from 25 districts of Child Rights Observatory were present at the meet.

Along with the report, a newsletter named Mandal, which provides an opportunity to adolescents of Dhar and Jhabua to voice their concerns on mental health was also launched.

A video story of a child from Rajgarh on how she coped up with the challenge was shown at the meet.