If you think Covid-19 may have something to do with the problems of school-age children's mental health, you are probably correct. According to the message from United Nations News on October 4, 2021, "COVID-19 has taken a toll on the mental health of children and young people". A UNICEF-backed study of children and adults in 21 countries has found "Globally, more than one in seven adolescents aged 10-19 is estimated to live with a diagnosed mental disorder, while almost 46,000 die annually from suicide, which is among the top five causes of death for this demographic". And more importantly, those impacts could be felt for many years to come. UNICEF said a new analysis from the London School of Economics estimates that mental disorders cost countries nearly $390 billion a year in lost contribution to their economics. However, the pandemic impact is just the 'tip of the iceberg.' Even before the crisis, children and youth were already carrying the burden of mental health conditions. An online study in China in early 2020 revealed that one-third of respondents reported feeling scared or anxious. Henrietta Fore, the UNICEF Executive Director, said that one of the big reasons is "without significant investment in addressing them". Wide gaps persist between mental health needs and mental health funding, with only around two percent of government health budgets going to mental health spending. "Mental health is a part of physical health - we cannot afford to continue to view it as otherwise. For far too long, in rich and poor countries alike, we have seen too little understanding and too little investment in a critical element of maximizing every child's potential. This needs to change." Said Ms. Fore.
And as a newly created startup company, we are welcome people with the same vision of creating a healthy and inclusive online community for our children to join us. Indeed, I believe that no matter the roles you take - advisor, investor, worker or co-founder, together, we can archive our goal. As always, I hope you can write to me and tell me your thoughts.