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New research conducted in 21 countries for Unicef suggests that in the first half of 2021, 1 in 5 15-24 year olds said they often felt depressed or had little interest in doing things. Unicef estimates that 13% of adolescents currently live with a diagnosed mental health problem.

Fourteen-year-old Andre (not his real name) from Peru explains how a local health centre diagnosed him with anxiety and depression when he'd been referred by a school psychologist after he said he didn't want to carry on living. He praised their approach, saying they listened to him acknowledged his condition.

Zeinab Hijazi, Senior Mental Health Technical Advisor for Unicef in New York, says that hi story highlights the critical need to have accessible, local services but that these are often focused in the capital cities, and that in many places there is a shortage of mental health professionals.

Andre - "It's better to have good mental health than living a lie."

Photo: Andre (not his real name), a teeneage contributor to the Unicef report, Peru, 2021 Credit: UNICEF/UN0476519/Mandros

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