United Kingdom appoints its first minister for loneliness
- Britain has appointed a “minister for loneliness” to tackle social isolation affecting millions of people
- The ministerial appointment follows a recommendation from a committee in memory of Jo Cox, a lawmaker who was murdered
- A research by UK government shows many as one in ten people feel lonely
Britain prime minister, Theresa May, on Wednesday, January 17, appointed Tracey Crouch as a “minister for loneliness” to tackle modern public health problems associated with social isolation, NBC news reports.
Crouch, whose official title is minister for sport and civil society, will devise a national strategy to tackle isolation across all ages, and find ways of measuring alienation in official statistics.
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The government said research showed as many as one in ten people felt lonely “always or often” and that hundreds of thousands of elderly people hadn’t spoken to a friend or relative in the past month.
"We know that there is a real impact of social isolation and loneliness on people, on their physical and mental well-being but also on other aspects in society and we want to tackle this challenge," Crouch said.
The British prime minister announcing Crouch’s appointment said: "I want to confront this challenge for our society and for all of us to take action to address the loneliness endured by the elderly, by carers, by those who have lost loved ones, people who have no one to talk to or share their thoughts and experiences with."
The role was the main recommendation in a 2017 report commissioned in memory of Jo Cox, a lawmaker and mother of two who was murdered on the street in 2016 by a terrorist.
"Jo Cox recognized the scale of loneliness across the country and dedicated herself to doing all she could to help those affected,” May said.
However, there was some criticism of the appointment on social media, with users pointing out a link between loneliness and government cuts to community services such as public libraries, day care centers and community halls.
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Source: Legit.ng
