Global Youth Mobilization for generation disrupted: WHO’s latest effort to help youth cope with Covid-19 disruptions

WHO announces the “Global Youth Mobilization for Generation Disrupted,” in partnership with a collective of six youth organisations, generally referred to as the Big 6 Youth Organizations, WHO youth council and United Nations Fund.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is teaming up with some of the world’s largest youth organisations, representing 250 million of them, and the United Nations Fund to launch a global mobilisation effort to help young people cope with the disruptive effects of Covid-19 on them, the health agency said in a statement on Monday.

“Today we’re delighted to be taking part in the launch of the Global Youth Mobilization for Generation Disrupted, a new worldwide movement to support young people and involve them in the response to the #COVID19 pandemic,” WHO director general Tedros Adhenom Ghebreyesus said.

The “Global Youth Mobilization for Generation Disrupted,” will be led by a collective of six organisations, generally referred to as the Big 6 Youth Organizations, comprising Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), World Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), World Organization of the Scout Movement, World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), and The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award.

A global youth summit would be convened in April 2021 and a $5 million fund has also been allocated to support local and national youth groups, the statement said. The statement also called for the global community including governments, businesses and policymakers to support and invest in the effort intended at helping young people.

WHO also addressed the adverse impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on young people citing disruptions to education, economic uncertainty, loss or lack of employment opportunities, impacts on physical and mental health, and trauma from domestic violence.

“Mental anxiety brought on by COVID-19 has been identified in nearly 90 per cent of young people; more than 1 billion students in almost every country have been impacted by school closures; and 1 in 6 young people worldwide have lost their jobs during the pandemic,” the statement said.

The mobilisation efforts come after WHO created the World Health Organization Director-General’s Youth Council, earlier in December in helping young people with health and development issues.