<![CDATA[ Quase metade dos jovens na Europa sem a necessária resposta de saúde mental ]]>

Almost half of young people in the European Union (49%) reported unmet mental health care needs, compared with 23% of the adult population, according to a document released Wednesday.

"Currently, among young Europeans aged 15 to 19, suicide is the second leading cause of premature death," reads the White Paper on the Mental Wellbeing of Young People in Europe, launched by the Z Zurich Foundation.

The initiative is presented as a call to action from policy makers, companies, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and caregivers, but also from young people themselves.

"In the European Union, the decline in mental health costs more than 600 billion euros per year," note the authors of the report released this Wednesday, according to which the mental health of young people is "under-prioritized".

"Only 2% of global national health budgets were spent on mental health in 2020, focusing mainly on treatment rather than prevention and promotion," the same source highlights.

In the White Paper, the Foundation highlights a program it supports in Portugal (Por ti: Program for the Promotion of Mental Well-being in Schools), stating that in two years it has already reached almost 70,000 students.

"Young people's mental well-being is crucial to society and goes beyond addressing problems as they arise, to developing a fulfilling life. It includes emotional literacy and the skills to identify when one is under stress and to advocate for one's interests; resilience to respond to life's ups and downs; strong relationships and social skills; and the ability to participate and contribute to society," the document highlights.

According to data from the OECD, cited in the statement released this Wednesday with the White Paper, ("Health at a Glance: Europe 2018"), Portugal is the fifth European country with the highest prevalence of mental health issues, with an estimated 18.4% of the population.

"Due to the school interruptions caused by the Covid-19 lockdown during two academic years and the social isolation to which adolescents and school communities were exposed, mental well-being will continue to be an extremely critical issue for Portugal", says the Foundation.

In the European context, more than one in six young people "struggle with their mental health" and, according to the authors of the work, "recent data suggests that the situation is getting worse".