Within and Beyond the Pandemic - The Impact of COVID-19 on Adolescent Health
Jenny Promios, Co-Chair IAAH Governance and Policy Committee
It has become clear that although COVID-19 does not cause significant ill health in adolescents, the pandemic itself has had, and will continue to have significant impacts on this young generation. The impacts are wide-ranging, from educational and social disruption, increased anxiety and depression, and food insecurity, to lack of access to health services, risk of violence and abuse, and unemployment. IAAH has summarised the impacts of COVID-19 for adolescents, and highlighted the importance of addressing their health, nutrition, positive development, wellbeing and human rights as part of national responses to the pandemic.IAAH believes that now is the time to invest in positive adolescent development, education, family welfare, access to health care, and employment opportunities, in order to mitigate the potentially catastrophic short-, medium, and long-term effects on young people’s health, development and wellbeing. The policy statement is a Call to Action for governments, non-government organizations, health services, communities working with adolescents and adolescents themselves to contribute to the post-pandemic future of young people everywhere.
This position statement can be found on the IAAH website: https://iaah.org/resources/policystatements/
Or download the PDF here: https://iaah.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/IAAH-COVID19-Policy-Statement-8_July_2020_FINAL.pdf
