Saying that risks to child mental health and well-being due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic are “considerable,” acting United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Country Representative Irfan Akhtar has highlighted the need for a full understanding of the extent to which children are affected to ensure their protection.
Akhtar’s comments come in wake of recent surveys conducted by UNICEF Guyana and the Health Ministry, which have found that the pandemic is having a serious impact on youth mental wellness, with many adolescents across the country reporting stress.
In a joint release, UNICEF Guyana and the Health Ministry yesterday highlighted that the surveys found that the three main concerns that contributed to stress during the current pandemic were concern about the risk of being exposed to the coronavirus (57.6%), uncertainty about the future (44.9%) and adapting to a different lifestyle (41.7%).
