One in four Greek teens aged between 15 and 19 years old is struggling with a mental health disorder, according to Dr Joao Breda, head of the WHO Office on Quality of Care and Patient Safety in Athens.
Speaking to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA-MPA), Breda stressed the urgent need to provide access to high-quality mental care for teens and children.
He noted that the WHO recently collected all available data on mental health in children and teenagers in the European Region to draw up a report that is to be presented in the coming months, with some worrying conclusions.
The figures show a steady increase in the number of children and young people living with a mental health disorder, while suicide has become the number one cause of death for the ages between 15 and 29 in this area, highlighting the need for urgent action.
Regarding the cause of this deterioration in the mental health of younger age groups, he said it was a complex phenomenon that could not be attributed to a single factor, though it was well documented that as stress-inducing factors increase, mental health comes under pressure.
He pointed out that young people in Europe were now faced with unprecedented challenges, including climate change, geopolitical conflict and their daily existence in complex and unregulated digital environments, while they did not have adequate access to the mental health services that they need.
Breda noted that existing mental health services were not designed with the needs and wishes of young people in mind, were understaffed, were not youth-friendly, and had long waiting lists.