Rotary Club Statutory Meeting 23.03.22
Mental health conditions are a major
burden of disease for adolescents worldwide. This
trend has been growing ever stronger since the Covid-19 pandemic began to
affect all our lives.
Rotary
Club Hearts is committed to improving the quality of life for children and
youth with mental illnesses.
We
were delighted to start a series of conferences on the theme: Mental Health for
Youth.
The experts ‘lectures will help understand the mental
and emotional issues that children and young people are currently facing and
how to help them. We will also learn how organisations, institutions and
experts are addressing these issues.
To launch
this series of lectures, we had the pleasure of welcoming Dr Salima Aaarab.
As an
expert in child and adolescent mental health services in Luxembourg, Dr Aaarab
inspired the full-attended meeting with her conference: „Mental Health in children and adolescents, COVID-Effects,
support existing, support needed “.
Dr Aarab guided us on the main mental
illnesses faced by adolescents in Luxembourg. She illustrated how the COVID pandemic
has had a negative impact in terms of the number of cases of diseases such as anorexia,
depression or obesity, affecting the already reduced capacity to respond to the
needs of young people.
She continued and introduced us to
the medical system available in Luxembourg which includes possibilities of hospital
and outpatient system. The Ministry of Education also supports mental illness for
children and adolescents in Luxembourg with a non-medical system in terms of psychology services and institutions.
The new structure of the National
Service of Juvenile Psychiatry, “Service National de Psychiatrie Juvénile”, to
which Dr Aarab belongs, represents a significant improvement in terms of medical
supply.
However, the needs exceed the supply.
Dr Aarab proposed several areas and ideas where support is needed as a possible
way forward for our collaboration as a Rotary Club.
A dinner between members and Dr Aarab
closed a memorable evening.
