WATCH: Youths’ Social Lives Are Shattered, Julie Zahra Warns In Appeal For Malta To ‘Take Mental Health Seriously’
Julie Zahra, one of the Nationalist Party’s newest candidates, has called for a national focus on the mental health of youths, whose social lives have been shattered as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“University students have lost practically an entire year of their university lives and I can imagine how bad that feeling is,” Zahra said in a recent interview with Lovin Malta.
“We’ve missed out on traveling and social life… especially youths, for whom social life is so important. I really think we need to address these issues now because we don’t know how it will impact us in the near future.”
“This is something we really have to take seriously and invest in.”
She urged people to abide by the COVID-19 measures as directed by the health authorities for the sake of returning to pre-pandemic normality.
“I’d love to at least go out and have a drink with my friends and not just chat to them online. We’re social animals and we really really miss this, but we have to respect each other so hopefully we will go back to some form of normality. I think we need to find a balance.”
Yesterday, Opposition leader Bernard Grech said the PN will announce policies on mental health in the coming weeks, describing this as one of the biggest problems posed by the pandemic.
Although he didn’t provide any details, he said the policies will look beyond the Mount Carmel hospital.
Lovin Malta’s full interview with Julie Zahra can be found below.
What more should Malta do to tackle mental health problems brought about by the pandemic?
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