Posted in: 10/14/2022 – 09:46
Taiz (Yemen) (AFP) – In Yemen, mired in a brutal war, the phenomenon of mental disorders is deepening, while the health sector is in collapse due to the eight years of fighting that plunged Yemenis into depression and drove others to suicide.
Doctors and psychiatrists tell AFP that Yemen, with a population of 30 million, is going through a mental health “crisis” due to the absence of psychiatrists and drugs, as well as the fear of the social stigma associated with the use of psychotherapy.
According to the Ministry of Health, the number of psychiatrists in 2020 reached 59, which means there is one psychiatrist for every half a million people. As for the average number of healthcare professionals specializing in mental health (doctors, nurses and therapists), it is estimated at about 300, ie at the rate of one specialist for every 100,000 people.
The number of designated mental health beds in Yemen does not exceed 990, while the Ministry of Health estimates the number of public and private mental health hospitals to be seven, or an average of one hospital for every 4.25 million Yemenis .
According to the Yemeni Family Development and Counseling Foundation, which specializes in psychological counseling, about 19.5% of the Yemeni population suffered from psychological disorders in 2017, according to a study published that year.
But the United Nations warned in reports released this year that “this number could be higher now due to the epidemic (Covid-19) and the ongoing conflict.” There are no recent studies on the number of patients with mental disorders.
Insufficient family
The conflict in Yemen has raged since 2014 between Iranian-backed Houthis and government forces backed by a Saudi-led military coalition.
The war caused the deaths of more than 377,000 people directly or indirectly, according to a UN report late last year, which means they died in bombing and fighting, or as a result of indirect consequences such as hunger, disease and lack of drinking water.
The country is now at risk of escalating violence following the collapse of a half-yearly truce this month.
According to the Development and Extension Foundation, the causes of population unrest are mainly the result of “food insecurity, 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, mental health patients are crammed into a hospital that can no longer receive them due to its inability to provide medicine, food and treatment to all patients.
The director of the Taiz Psychiatric Hospital, Dr. Adel Mulhi, explains that “the number of psychiatric patients is increasing due to the conditions in the country, the tragedies caused by the war and the current political situation”.
“We try to provide care, 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.
Pain is a common factor.
In addition to killing and destruction, Yemen is suffering from the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, according to the United Nations, as about 80% of the neighboring country’s population of some of the richest countries in the world depends on humanitarian aid to survive.
In Hajjah, northwest of Sana’a, Doctors Without Borders runs a psychiatric clinic that cares for residents suffering from the trauma of war.
Now Ramirez Barrios, the organization’s director of mental health, told AFP that 70 to 80 percent of patients in this clinic suffer from “psychosis, depression, bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.”
“We have many people who have lost their families and homes and are being displaced. With all of these losses, grief is a common factor,” she said.
But even with the clinic offering its services for free, some residents find it difficult to reach the center or accept the idea of psychiatric treatment.
Ramirez Barrios explains that “the families of the (patients) were ashamed to come earlier”, especially the women, because “they need the permission of their families or their husbands and are afraid of not being bound by confidentiality” after talking about the their situation.
She notes that many people arrive too late “when patients attempt suicide or develop symptoms such as severe hallucinations or delirium.”
Yemeni media reports that one person commits suicide every two days, a number that cannot be confirmed elsewhere.
Despite the difficulties, the official says: “This is not a hopeless place. People believe in us even when we suffer from chronic diseases and think this is a safe place.”
bags-who / with / gr
© 2022 AFP
