WHO Europe chief calls mental health challenges ‘next pandemic’

By Faruk Hanedar and Sercan Irkin

ISTANBUL (AA) - A top official at the World Health Organization has labeled mental health challenges as the "next pandemic" on the global horizon.

“Mental health issues (are what) I call the next pandemic. We are working together to strengthen the mental health of the population,” WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge told Anadolu.

Everyone in the world, particularly the youth, has been in lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected the mental health of the people, Kluge said.

He said anxiety and sleeping problems were a common problem in youth which have to be addressed.

“The latest data from the EU shows that one out of six people in the EU has some distress, anxiety, and sleeping problems,” he said, highlighting that in certain countries, even the youngest children spend approximately six hours a day in front of screens.

He said they are exposed to all kinds of “unregulated advertising or violence” or sometimes a picture symbolizing “a perfect body” that triggers their anxiety.

“The youth is anxious about the climate. They know that the world is heating up everywhere. There are wars between Russia and Ukraine, and Israel and Gaza. The people are busy with that. We are living in what I call a ‘permacrisis.’ There is a permanent crisis and for people, this impacts the mental status,” he added.

- ‘Peace, permanent cease-fire in Gaza is the most important medicine’

Regarding the Israeli attacks in Gaza, Kluge said: “What we need most urgent is peace.”

“Peace and a permanent cease-fire is the most important medicine because when there is a war and hospitals are being destroyed, of course, there is a breeding ground for infectious diseases, for mental diseases. Of course, a very basic need is food. This is very important,” he said.

The WHO is trying to do whatever it can, also helping to evacuate children with cancer from Gaza, he added.

He added that Turkish first lady Emine Erdogan and Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca immediately accepted the request for help in evacuating 20 children with cancer from Gaza.

He said Belgium and Spain also started to assist in the evacuation of the children.

“WHO advocates for a cease-fire, not to attack hospitals because this is a big issue. At the same time, all hostages have to be returned and while they are in captivity, they must have to access medical care. The principle of WHO is health for all, we cannot politicize health,” he added.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip in retaliation for an Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas which killed about 1,200 people.

More than 34,900 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, mostly women and children, and 78,100 others injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Over seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January said it is "plausible" that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and ordered Tel Aviv to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

- Relations with Türkiye

On the WHO’s relations with Türkiye, Kluge said Türkiye has the largest number of WHO offices in the whole region.

“We have the country office in Ankara, we have the WHO European Center on Preparedness for Natural Disasters office. We have an office in Gaziantep which is providing a lot of humanitarian assistance to the people in northwestern Syria,” he said, adding that they have a strong solid collaboration with Türkiye.

“Türkiye has a lot of experience. We worked day to day, day and night together when the tragic earthquake happened about a year ago for surveillance and training of health workers…,” he said.

- Speculations on COVID-19 vaccines

Regarding the COVID-19 vaccines, he reassured all the people that there is a very rigid procedures to certify a certain vaccine which has to undergo strict regulatory procedures looking at the effectiveness, looking at toxicity, and looking at side effects.

“Whenever WHO is certifying a vaccine, it is to be considered safe and effective. Now I do understand the concern of many people. Because usually, it takes about 10 years to develop a new vaccine. During the COVID-19 pandemic, after one and a half years, not one but up to four vaccines were developed already,” he said.

He added that those vaccines were developed based on a certain platform of technology that was already there.

Warning about the fake news, and anti-vaccination movement, he said he spoke with people who do not want to be vaccinated although they are not anti-vaxxers.

“They are people who have legitimate concerns. The right information did not reach them,” he said, adding that people could rely on “trusted messengers in the community” who have the trust of the community to explain that vaccines save lives.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar