Patients in a mental hospital sit outside in Taiz (Ahmad Al-Basha/AFP)
In Yemen, which is engulfed in a brutal war, the phenomenon is exacerbated mental disordersWhile the health sector is witnessing a collapse due to the eight-year fighting that has plunged Yemenis into a furnace Depression and push others to suicide.
Psychologists and counsellors tell AFP that: To whom With a population of 30 million people, it is currently experiencing a mental health crisis due to the absence of psychiatrists and medication, as well as the fear of social stigma associated with resorting to psychotherapy.
According to the Ministry of Health, the number of psychiatrists in 2020, according to the Ministry of Health, reached 59, which means the availability of Psychiatrist One for every half a million people. As for the average number of health workers specialized in mental health (doctors, nurses, and therapists), it is estimated at about 300, or at a rate of one specialist for every 100,000 people.
The number of beds designated for mental health in Yemen does not exceed 990, while the Ministry of Health estimates the number of public and private mental health hospitals at seven, ie an average of one hospital for every 4.25 million Yemenis.
According to the Yemeni Family Development and Guidance Foundation, which specializes in psychological guidanceAccording to a study published that year, about 19.5 percent of the Yemeni population suffered from mental disorders.
But the United Nations warned, in reports published this year, that “this number may be higher now due to the epidemic (Covid-19) and the continuing conflict.” There are no recent studies on the number of patients with mental disorders.
Not enough beds
The conflict in Yemen has been raging since 2014 between the Iranian-backed Houthis and government forces backed by a Saudi-led military coalition.
The war caused the death of more than 377,000 people directly or indirectly, according to a United Nations report at the end of last year, meaning that they died either in bombing and fighting, or as a result of indirect consequences such as starvation, disease and lack of drinking water.
The country is now at risk of escalating violence after the collapse of a half-year truce this month.
According to the Development and Extension Foundation, the causes of unrest in the population are mainly the result of “lack of Food security unemployment, cholera, arbitrary detention, torture, indiscriminate attacks, air strikes, or poor basic public services.”
In Taiz (southwest), one of the cities most affected by the war, patients are crowded Psychological health In a hospital that is no longer able to receive more because of its inability to provide medicines, food and treatment to all patients.
The director of the Psychiatric Hospital in Taiz, Dr. Adel Mulhi, explains that “the number of psychiatric patients is increasing as a result of the conditions in the country and the tragedies caused by the war and the current political situation.”
“We try to provide treatment, but we cannot provide it to all of them. We receive large numbers. (…) We are hardly able to provide the service because of what we have.”
With a capacity of 200 patients, the hospital does not have enough beds for everyone who knocks on its doors. The hospital receives government funding that covers 25% of its needs and receives some donations, according to its director.
Grief is a common factor.
In addition to the killing and destruction, Yemen is suffering from the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, according to the United Nations, with about 80% of the population of the neighboring country of some of the world’s richest countries, relying on humanitarian aid to survive.
In Hajjah, northwest of Sana’a, Doctors Without Borders runs a clinic for mental illness You are dealing with a population suffering trauma from the consequences of war.
Ora Ramirez Barrios, director of mental health at the organization, told AFP that 70 to 80 percent of patients in this clinic suffer from “psychosis, depression, and other disorders.” bipolar and post-traumatic stress disorder.
“We have many people who have lost family members and homes and are experiencing displacement. Because of all these losses, grief is a common factor,” she said.
But even with the clinic offering its services for free, some residents have difficulty getting to the center or accepting the idea of psychiatric treatment.
Ramirez Barrios explains that “patients’ families were ashamed to come earlier,” especially women, because they “need permission from their families or husbands and are afraid of not being committed to confidentiality” after talking about their situation.
She notes that many people come too late “when patients attempt suicide or develop symptoms such as severe hallucinations or delirium.”
Yemeni media reports that a person commits suicide every two days, a number that cannot be confirmed by other parties.
Despite the difficulties, the official says, “This is not a hopeless place. People believe in us even when they suffer from chronic diseases and think this is a safe place.”
(AFP)