One in six people in the world suffer from loneliness, according to a World Health Organization Commission (WHO). In a report published Monday in Geneva, she adds that loneliness is linked to a death every ten minutes, more than 871,000 per year.
All ages are exposed, says the WHO Commission on social connection. A quarter of people in poor and intermediate income are victims, compared to 11% in rich countries.
More social ties are positive for health, says the chairman of the committee, Vivek Murthy. ‘We have an emergency before us to answer this problem, he added before the press.
He also requests to assess the consequences of technology uses in education. While the connection possibilities are innumerable, ‘more and more people are isolated or alone,’ deplored the director general of the OMS Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
In addition to the consequences for individuals, this situation costs billions of dollars in terms of health or productivity loss. Research in recent years has shown that the problem was ‘much more important’ than ‘what we thought,’ said an WHO official, Etienne Krug.
Important site
According to estimates, social isolation, or the objective lack of social ties, reaches a third of adults and a quarter of young people. People with disabilities, migrants or refugees, as are LGBTQI+ people or members of ethnic minorities can face discrimination that makes more difficult.
Among the reasons which explain both loneliness or social isolation are health difficulties, revenues or insufficient educations, living alone, community infrastructure and unsuitable public policies or digital technologies. The report alerts on the effect of too large time in front of screens or negative relationships online for mental health.
Social connections can decrease the threat of serious health problems, improve mental health or avoid premature deaths. They can also make communities stronger and lead to economic advances.
The Commission wishes a global movement to promote social ties. The WHO asks for states, communities and individuals to do a leading site for public health in different countries.
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