One Of Seven In 15-24 Years Of Age Often Feel Depressed In India, Says UNICEF Report

According to a recent report by UNICEF, amid the ongoing COVID-9 pandemic, around 14 per cent of 15 to 24-year-olds in India, or 1 in 7, have often been feeling depressed.

In the report on mental health 'The States of the World's Children 2021', UNICEF has illustrated in stark terms how events in the wider world can affect the world inside our heads.

In the UNICEF survey across 21 countries, only 41 per cent of young people in India were willing to seek support for mental health problems, compared to an average of 83 per cent for 21 countries.

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Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya released the report today.

Releasing the report, minister Mandaviya said, "Mental health has widely been discussed in our Sanatan culture and spirituality. The mutual development of mind and body has been explained in our texts. A healthy mind resides in a healthy body. We are very happy that today UNICEF has released a global report on the mental health of children".

"Has to be taken seriously"

The Union Minister added further that as the trend of nuclear families instead of joint families has increased in our society, mental health problems have become frequent in children. "Today parents are not able to give enough time to their child, so we need to talk about mental health," he said, and added, "We have been told that around 14 per cent of children worldwide have a mental health problem. It has to be taken seriously."

Mandaviya said, "To build a better and developed society, it is necessary to keep monitoring the mental health of children from time to time. For this, arrangements will also have to be made for better mental health of teachers in schools. Because, children trust their teachers the most".

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Children in India seem reluctant to seek support for mental stress, according to a survey conducted by UNICEF and Gallup in early 2021 with 20,000 children and adults in 21 countries. Only 41 per cent of young people between 15-24 years of age in India said that it is good to get support for mental health problems, compared to an average of 83 per cent for 21 countries.

As per the report, India was the only one of 21 countries where only a minority of young people felt that people experiencing mental health issues should reach out to others. In every other country, a majority of young people (ranging from 56 to 95 per cent) felt that reaching out was the best way to deal with mental health issues.