Posts offer a crucial lifeline to those living in isolation

 

Social isolation has become a key issue during the Covid-19 pandemic. As the world went into lockdown, those that live on their own or in remote regions suddenly became cut off from the world. Today, loneliness is seen by many as one of the largest health concerns faced by the world, according to the British Campaign to End Loneliness.

This fact has only been accentuated by the global pandemic and is particularly relevant to the elderly. The number of over-50s experiencing loneliness in the United Kingdom, for example, is set to reach two million by 2025/6. This compares to around 1.4 million in 2016/7 – a 49% increase in 10 years, according to the Campaign to End Loneliness.

 For those living with loneliness and for those in extremely remote regions the only person they see on a regular basis is their postie. “Postal workers bring the human factor and that is extremely important to those cut off from the world,” says Olivier Boussard, who heads up the UPU’s new Post4Health facility and is responsible for coordination, resource mobilization and stakeholder engagement at the UPU.

“Postal workers are still present in all communities – it is part of their universal service mandate,” he continues. “The real social network today is the postal network. The sector has more than six million employees delivering worldwide and that is why governments should use postal infrastructure to make sure health policies are accessible to everyone. With this in mind, we urge governments to make sure posts are part of the public health plan!”