‘The suffering is enormous’: WHO urges mental health action

AFP

The World Health Organization on Friday called on all nations to invest more in mental health, saying “the suffering is enormous” and has been made worse by the Covid pandemic.

Even before Covid-19 almost a billion people were living with a mental disorder, the UN agency said in its largest review of global mental health in two decades.

Then in the first year of the pandemic, rates of depression and anxiety went up by a quarter, even as scarce resources were deployed to fighting the virus.

Just two percent of national health budgets and less than one percent of all international health aid goes to mental health, the WHO’s report said.

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“All these numbers are very, very low,” Mark Van Ommeren of the WHO’s mental health unit told a news conference.

“Interest in mental health right now is at an all time-high” due to the pandemic, he said.

“But the investment in mental health has not gone up. This report gives countries information on how to invest their mental health money better.”

He said the report highlighted how “the suffering is enormous” across the world.

About one in eight people globally live with a mental disorder, according to the report.

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It is worse for those living in conflict zones, where one in five people are estimated to suffer from a mental health condition.

And young people, women and people already suffering mental health issues were harder hit by Covid and the following restrictions, Van Ommeren said.

“Where there is adversity, there are more mental health problems,” he added.

The WHO’s “World Mental Health Report” also highlighted vast gaps in access to mental healthcare between nations.

While more than 70 percent of people suffering psychosis receive treatment in high-income countries, the number drops to 12 percent in low-income nations, it said.

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Fire at substation triggers major blackout in San Francisco

The U.S. city of San Francisco was plunged into darkness Saturday night after a power outage left about 130,000 customers without electricity, although the utility company said service was restored to most users within hours.

Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) said in a statement posted on X that nearly 90,000 homes had their power restored by 9:00 p.m. local time (05:00 GMT on Sunday), while the remaining 40,000 customers were expected to have service restored overnight.

Large areas of the city, a major technology hub with a population of around 800,000, were affected by the blackout, which disrupted public transportation and left traffic lights out of service during the busy weekend before Christmas, a crucial period for retail businesses.

“I know it’s been a difficult day,” San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said in a video posted on social media from the city’s emergency operations center. “There has been progress, but for those still without power, we want to make sure they are safe and checking in on their neighbors,” he added.

Lurie said police officers and firefighters advised residents to stay home as much as possible. He also noted that officers and traffic inspectors were deployed to manage intersections where traffic lights were not functioning.

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The mayor confirmed that the outage was caused by a fire at an electrical substation. Parts of the city were also covered in fog, further complicating conditions during the incident.

As a result of the blackout, many businesses were forced to close despite it being the weekend before Christmas. The sudden drop in shopper traffic ahead of the holiday is “devastating” for retailers, the manager of home goods store Black & Gold told the San Francisco Chronicle.

International

Cristina Kirchner recovering after appendicitis surgery in Buenos Aires

Former Argentine President Cristina Kirchner underwent surgery on Saturday after being diagnosed with appendicitis and is recovering “without complications,” according to a medical report released by the Otamendi Sanatorium.

Kirchner was admitted to the Buenos Aires medical center on Saturday after experiencing abdominal pain. Doctors performed a laparoscopic procedure that confirmed a diagnosis of “appendicitis with localized peritonitis,” the statement said, adding that her post-operative recovery has been progressing without complications.

The former president was transferred to the clinic with judicial authorization from her apartment in Buenos Aires, where she is serving a six-year sentence under house arrest for corruption.

International

Argentina detects first local cases of Influenza A (H3N2) Subclade K

Argentina’s National Administration of Laboratories and Health Institutes (ANLIS) “Dr. Carlos G. Malbrán” has confirmed the detection of three cases of influenza A (H3N2) corresponding to subclade K in the country. These are the first locally recorded cases of this variant, which has become predominant in several countries in the Northern Hemisphere in recent months and is associated with higher transmissibility.

The cases were identified through the National Network of Laboratories and Sentinel Units and confirmed by the National Reference Laboratory of INEI-ANLIS using genomic sequencing techniques. According to health authorities, the cases involve two adolescents from the province of Santa Cruz, detected as part of the Ambulatory Monitoring Strategy for Acute Respiratory Infections, and a child who had been hospitalized in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires.

In all three cases, patients experienced mild illness and recovered without complications. Officials did not specify whether any of the affected individuals had a recent travel history.

The jurisdictions involved have already launched the corresponding epidemiological investigations and are responsible for ensuring timely medical care for the detected cases. According to the latest integrated surveillance report, the circulation of influenza and other respiratory viruses in Argentina remains within expected levels for this time of year.