Health and Well-being for Young People in the Times of COVID-19

Results of a Youth Consultation by Youth Tech Health

The unforeseen challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have taken a significant toll on people across the world, with populations affected in diverse ways. As well as the direct health implications of COVID-19, in the context of widespread school closures, increased economic insecurity, forced isolation measures and limited access to face-to-face social support, there is urgent concern about the critical health and wellbeing challenges being faced by adolescents and young people across the world.

Many are interested to know:

• What are the main health and wellbeing challenges that young people are facing?
• How are digital spaces currently mobilizing providing support?
• What can organizations seeking to support young people do to fill the gaps?

To learn more about these challenges, the YTH Initiative, in partnership with UNESCO, held a rapid virtual community consultation on May 1, 2020, with 20 young people, ages 19 and 30. This included eleven females, eight males and one young person identifying as non-binary, representing nineteen countries around the world. We wanted to know what challenges youth were facing, what has changed in their lives since the COVID-19 pandemic began and what has stayed the same, and what youth-facing/serving organizations like ours could do to support them.

You can find the answers to these questions and more in the official report.

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