WHO declares loneliness a ‘global public health concern’

These issues don’t affect one country… [loneliness] is an underappreciated public health threat,’ Murphy added.  

While often the West is used as the barometer to determine levels of loneliness globally, with major factors like cost of living, social media, and the pandemic regularly explored in the media, this report aims to bring wider awareness to vulnerable nations ‘excluded by the digital divide.’ 

The scientific consensus is that Gen Z are the loneliest generation to exist, but you may be surprised to hear that 12.7% of African adolescents experience this feeling compared to 5.3% within Europe. The contributing factors differ, but the result is the same – or perhaps markedly worse.

The commission’s African Union youth envoy, Chido Mpemba, reveals that across the continent – where the population is mostly comprised of young people – challenges around conflicts, security, the climate crisis, and high levels of unemployment are causing social isolation to spread like wildfire. 

‘We believe it’s important to redefine the narrative surrounding loneliness,’ she says, inferring that the West’s grapple with social media and self-image is just the tip of the iceberg when looking at the picture globally. 

It will be interesting to see what revelations can be gleaned from all 11 commission advocates and government ministers in the coming months and years.  

Perhaps with a more holistic dataset, we can begin to devise solutions put a dent in these troubling statistics across the board.