Protect mental health of health workers: UN resident coordinator

UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Mia Seppo has stressed on protecting the mental health of health workers before a possible second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic hits, as feared by the World Health Organization when many countries begin reopening economies.

"Covid-19 started as a health crisis, but it transcended into medium and long-term mental health crisis. Maybe it is not seen yet, but it will be high," she said at the inaugural of an E-workshop on the book titled "Covid-19: the other side of living through the pandemic" organised by the Centre for Genocide Studies (CGS) of Dhaka University.

Twenty nine authors of 10 countries from four continents -- Asia, Africa, Europe and North America -- will present 24 chapters of the book to capture their experiences and thoughts during the global pandemic. Those will be presented and discussed during the four-day workshop.

Addressing as chief guest at the inaugural, Mia Seppo said sometimes the work of health workers and others like women's work is not appreciated, but they do the most critical jobs.

"Mental health of front line workers, especially the health workers, needs to be taken care of before a second wave of the pandemic," Mia Seppo said today.

She said globally when the pandemic has shown that nations come together and help each other, it also showed how there is racism, hatred and stigmatization -- especially against the migrants and even in some cases health officials in countries with poor healthcare systems.

Stigmatisation often minimises peoples' healthcare behaviours, Mia said.

She said the pandemic also created an info-demic where rumours ran high and people were perplexed. Free flow of information and creating space for civic voices are, therefore, critical to building public trust between people and governments.

"Trust for the governments is critical for tackling of such a pandemic," the top UN official in Bangladesh said.

She said the new coronavirus has brought huge challenges, but is also an opportunity for all to reflect on the shortcomings and take actions to avoid any future shocks of pandemic.

Mia said there are two Bangladesh -- one is rich and fast and the other is poor and slow. Digital communication has become the way of life now, but it also shows how the digital divide is depriving a section.

"Covid-19 is affecting all -- rich and poor. To prevent the next pandemic, we need to bridge the digital divide between rich and poor or the men and women," she said.

Covid-19, being a global problem, is showing how global solidarity and multilateral cooperation is more important than ever to address global challenges of this scale, Mia said.

CGS Director Prof Imtiaz Ahmed said Covid-19 has made things largely different and created a new normal that might remain for some time. Therefore, the lives being lived throughout this period must be captured and the book project is part of that effort.

The authors are focusing on a number of issues beginning from rumours to arts and culture, economy to politics, international relations to disaster management, he said.

"A whole lot of people are staying home, but not others like the street children. We are trying to include all these things in the book from various parts of the world," Prof Imtiaz said.