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Ant\\xf3nio Guterres (United Nations Secretary-General) on COVID-19 and the need for action on mental health.

Mental health is at the core of our humanity.\\xa0\\nIt enables us to lead rich and fulfilling lives and to participate in our communities.\\xa0\\nBut the COVID-19 virus is not only attacking our physical health; it is also increasing psychological suffering. \\xa0\\nGrief at the loss of loved ones\\u2026\\nShock at the loss of jobs\\u2026\\xa0\\nIsolation and restrictions on movement\\u2026\\nDifficult family dynamics\\u2026\\nUncertainty and fear for the future\\u2026\\nMental health problems, including depression and anxiety, are some of the greatest causes of misery in our world.\\xa0\\nThroughout my life, and in my own family, I have been close to doctors and psychiatrists treating these conditions. As prime minister of my country, Portugal, and as High Commissioner for Refugees, I became acutely aware of the suffering they cause. This suffering is often exacerbated by stigma and discrimination, which is absolutely unacceptable.\\xa0\\nAfter decades of neglect and underinvestment in mental health services, the COVID-19 pandemic is now hitting families and communities with additional mental stress.\\xa0\\nThose most at risk are frontline healthcare workers, older people, adolescents and young people, those with pre-existing mental health conditions and those caught up in conflict and crisis.\\xa0\\nWe must help them and stand by them.\\xa0\\nEven when the pandemic is brought under control, grief, anxiety and depression will continue to affect people and communities. \\xa0\\nThis is the background to the policy brief on COVID-19 and mental health that we are launching today.\\xa0\\nMental health services are an essential part of all government responses to COVID-19. They must be expanded and fully funded.\\xa0\\nPolicies must support and care for those affected by mental health conditions, and protect their human rights and dignity.\\xa0\\nLockdowns and quarantines must not discriminate against those with poor mental health.\\xa0\\nAs we recover from the pandemic, we must shift more mental health services to the community, and make sure mental health is included in universal health coverage.\\xa0\\nThe United Nations is strongly committed to creating a world in which everyone, everywhere, has someone to turn to for psychological support.\\xa0\\nI urge governments, civil society, health authorities and others to come together urgently to address the mental health dimension of this pandemic.\\xa0\\nAnd I call on governments in particular to announce ambitious commitments on mental health at the upcoming World Health Assembly.\\xa0