WHO Launch New Child Mental Health Program in COVID-19 Recovery

On Monday, the World Health Organization's (WHO) Regional Office for Europe and Greece launched a program to promote mental health care for children and adolescents.

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This initiative is the result of an ongoing partnership and collaboration between WHO Europe and the government of Greece across the health system spectrum, including the areas of quality of care and patient safety.

"Mental health and well-being is a fundamental human right that should be at the heart of our health systems and key to recovery from the COVID-19 emergency. The pandemic has affected everyone in society, but the most vulnerable, including children and young people, have suffered the most," the WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge said.

Ensuring that children and adolescents have access to quality mental health services is a moral imperative and investment in the future, as around 50 percent of all mental health problems in adulthood have their onset during or before adolescence, he explained.

"It is clear that, whether it is because of an unprecedented pandemic or a sudden humanitarian crisis, meeting people's mental health needs -- especially those of children and young people -- must be at the heart of any functioning health system," Kluge said, explaining that the new program will also provide support to the millions affected by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The WHO program will support the development of national strategies, frameworks and the sharing of lessons learned across the European region with concrete steps and solutions.

"We all fought for more than two years with an unknown enemy and we are not done yet. We have to think about what it will be like to coexist with COVID in the long run," Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said at the launch ceremony.