“Mental health must be part of all policies to build social resilience,” said Health and Food Safety Commissioner
The need for “more effective support” in the area of mental health of those who need it most was emphasized by Health and Food Safety Commissioner, Stella Kyriakidouahead of World Mental Health Day on October 10.
Ms. Kyriakidou noted that this “must be the priority” and added that “mental health must be part of all policies to build social resilience. This is particularly important for vulnerable groups such as children, young people, the elderly, migrants and refugees, all of whom have been affected by the challenges we face. This is the approach taken by the EU.”
He pointed out at the same time that “the pandemic COVID19, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its consequences, the energy crisis and worries about economic difficulties: all these events affect our mental health. Unfortunately, we see it affecting everyone around the world, starting with the most vulnerable.”
He said that in the EU, already before the coronavirus pandemic, mental health problems were affecting more than 85 million citizens and added that COVID has intensified these issues, especially for young people, those with less secure employment or lower education and incomes .
“We see that stress, loneliness and depression have increased significantly. Countless lives have been lost, livelihoods have disappeared and reality has been irrevocably changed.” pointed out Stella Kyriakidou.
“We are already working to support European societies to take better care of our mental health. We have allocated €27 million in (mental health) actions and launched a new ‘Healthier Together’ initiative to tackle mental health and neurological illness, including encouraging wellbeing at home, in schools and in the workplace and greater engagement in prevention” he noted.
Finally, Mrs. Kyriakidou spoke about the work being done in the area of research, education, justice, employment, social inclusion and disabilities. “This is a good start, but we can and must do more,” he stressed.
RES-EMP
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