The World Health Organisation (WHO) has challenged African leaders to put more efforts and resources in the training of Primary Health Care workers on how to detect and manage common mental health problems.
The WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, made the call during her message to mark the 2018 “World Mental Health Day” celebrated yearly on October 10.
She also urged parents, caregivers and teachers to build life skills of children and adolescents to help them in coping with everyday challenges as those early years was a time of change for most young people.
[penci_blockquote style=”style-2″ align=”none” author=””] “Half of all mental illness begins by the age of 14 years but most cases go undetected and untreated with serious long term consequences for mental health.[/penci_blockquote]
She averred that this period could come with stress and anxiety which, she said, often led to serious mental illness if not recognised and managed on time.
The regional director observed that, worldwide, 10 to 20 per cent of children and adolescents suffer from mental disorders.
She said that depression was the third leading cause of mental illness and disability among adolescents globally while suicide was the second leading cause of death among 15 to 29 year olds.
“Adolescence and the early years of adulthood are a time of change; moving, schools, leaving home and starting work.
“For many, these can be times of stress and anxiety and these feelings can lead to serious mental health if they are not recognized and managed well.
“In the African region, it is estimated that five per cent of the population aged below 15 years suffer from a mental disorder.
“Half of all mental illness begins by the age of 14 years but most cases go undetected and untreated with serious long term consequences for mental health.
“Children and adolescents in humanitarian settings are particularly vulnerable to mental distress and illness.
“The harmful use of alcohol and illicit drugs among adolescents contributes to risky behaviors such as violence, unsafe sex, and dangerous driving.
[penci_related_posts taxonomies=”undefined” title=”Online Related Posts” background=”” border=”” thumbright=”no” number=”4″ style=”grid” align=”none” displayby=”recent_posts” orderby=”random”]
“Children and adolescents with mental health disorders often face stigma and limited access to health care and education in violation of their human rights.
“I therefore, call on governments in the region to develop and strengthen evidence-based programmes for young people with the support of national policy makers and programme managers,” she said.
Moeti affirmed that although countries in the region was making progress in addressing the problems of mental health, much more could be done to build mental resilience from an early age.
She said this would help prevent mental distress and illness among adolescents and young adults and manage recovery.
The regional director stressed that mental health remained fundamental to overall health and for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Moeti also called on governments, interested partners and civil society to continue to collaborate with WHO to improve response to adolescents’ health needs.
World Mental Health Day is marked every year to draw attention to the importance of mental health. This year’s theme is “Young People and Mental Health in a Changing World”.
Greetings. Permit me to start by telling the author’s name – Thad. The favorite hobby for him brilliant kids can be always to jog but he’s thinking on starting something new. Supervising has been her day job for some time and it’s something she really like. My family lives in California and i love every living now. He’s been working on his website for some time now. Look it over here: #link#
My brother suggested I might like this web site. He was entirely right. This post truly made my day. You can not imagine just how much time I had spent for this info! Thanks!|
Hey there! Do you know if they make any plugins to help with Search Engine Optimization? I’m trying to get my blog to rank for some targeted keywords but I’m not seeing very good results. If you know of any please share. Kudos!|
With havin so much content do you ever run into any problems of plagorism or copyright violation? My website has a lot of exclusive content I’ve either written myself or outsourced but it looks like a lot of it is popping it up all over the internet without my authorization. Do you know any techniques to help prevent content from being ripped off? I’d certainly appreciate it.|
Hello there, I found your blog via Google while looking for a comparable matter, your web site got here up, it appears great. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.
You ought to take part in a contest for one of the highest quality websites on the web. I will recommend this web site!|
Peculiar article, totally what I was looking for.|
Hi there! Someone in my Myspace group shared this website with us so I came to look it over. I’m definitely loving the information. I’m bookmarking and will be tweeting this to my followers! Terrific blog and brilliant design.|
Thanks for a marvelous posting! I quite enjoyed reading it, you can be a great author.I will be sure to bookmark your blog and definitely will come back from now on. I want to encourage one to continue your great job, have a nice day!|
Hello there, I do believe your web site might be having internet browser compatibility issues. When I take a look at your web site in Safari, it looks fine however, when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping issues. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Aside from that, wonderful website!|
I simply want to say I am new to blogs and certainly savored your web page. Probably I’m likely to bookmark your blog post . You surely have beneficial articles and reviews. Thanks for sharing your web-site.
Someone essentially help to make significantly posts I would state. This is the first time I frequented your web page and up to now? I amazed with the analysis you made to make this particular submit amazing. Great job!|
This is my first time visit at here and i am really impressed to read all at one place.|
What a material of un-ambiguity and preserveness of valuable knowledge about unpredicted emotions.|
Thankfulness to my father who stated to me concerning this webpage, this webpage is actually remarkable.|
The author’s name is Thad Shattuck. Puerto Rico wherever my home is and I have everything my partner and i need suitable. Data processing is how I earn their living. It’s not a common thing but what Adore doing is archery nevertheless can’t make it my profession really. I’m not good at webdesign but you might desire to check my website: #link#
certainly like your website but you have to test the spelling on quite a few of your posts. Many of them are rife with spelling problems and I find it very bothersome to tell the reality nevertheless I will definitely come again again.|
Pretty! This was a really wonderful article. Thanks for providing this info.
I’d like to thank you for the efforts you have put in penning this website. I really hope to view the same high-grade content by you in the future as well. In truth, your creative writing abilities has motivated me to get my own site now 😉
There is definately a great deal to know about this topic. I like all of the points you’ve made.
Great web site you have here.. It’s hard to find high-quality writing like yours nowadays. I seriously appreciate individuals like you! Take care!!