The phrase "due to the current situation", which refers to the poor economic, health and security situation and other problems resulting from the ongoing war and its various impacts, may explain the condition of those who have been afflicted with mental illness in Yemen. Their suffering is intensifying on a daily basis to the extent that they have become completely forgotten, amidst the absence of the support of the government agencies and the concerned organizations towards psychics.
Hundreds of thousands of Yemenis face severe psychological and social stress caused by war, poverty, disease and family separation. While the mental health care system in Yemen suffers from a lack of sufficient funds, poor interest on the part of the decision-makers to advocate for such services. Besides, there is a significant scarcity of professionals in the field of mental health, not to mention the social stigma associated with mental health disease and the limited interest of humanitarian actors in promoting Mental health and psychosocial support systems.
In addition, the mental health sector suffers from limited specialized staff and fragile resources of the health facilities, as there are only 45 psychiatrists working all over the country; (36 in Sana’a and 9 psychiatrists in Aden), meaning that there is one psychiatrist for every 700,000 people. Hence, the vast majority of psychics who need medical care, including medications, have to pay for the treatment.
As a result, the sidewalks of the streets in the main cities are crowded with the mentally ill and psychics people along with the homeless, the poor and the unemployed, who live on the crumbs of what charity people may give.
In the context, an official source in the Ministry of Health and Population, in the internationally recognized government - who preferred not to disclose his identity - confirmed in a statement to "Khuyut", that the ministry in cooperation with the World Health Organization, is seeking to rehabilitate and furnish the mental and neurological hospitals in both Aden and Taiz in addition to providing essential medicines in order to reduce the pressure on hospitals specialized in mental health. Moreover, the Ministry is planning to launch training programs to bridge the gap in mental health personals, by opening specialized clinics in public hospitals, and qualifying the health staff in close coordination between the program and health offices in the target governorates.
Suffering Experiences
Mental illness is defined as “health conditions involving changes in emotion, thinking or behavior, which is a functional neurological disorder that is not accompanied by a structural change in the nervous system, often accompanied by hysterical and psychological symptoms, and various obsessions.”
Jumana (a pseudonym), in an interview with "Khuyut", explains the suffering of a mentally ill neighbor, who lives next to her residence, saying: "The condition of our neighbor with a psychological condition worsened after the death of his mother, who used to take care of him and ensured her son receives treatment in a timely manner. Recently, we have noted that his voice suddenly become louder, until it turns into a scream associated with banging on the walls and wasting water.”
A clinical psychologist attributes the reasons for the increase in the number of mentally ill patients to conflicts, the economic deterioration, unemployment, and life pressures in general, in light of the high costs of psychiatric clinic services, which exceed the capabilities of most patients’ families, in addition to the stigma imposed by Yemeni society on the family in which a mentally ill person lives.
Jumana continues her speech by saying: "Thus, we live in a frightening and anxious situation, from aggressive complications that may lead to the patient harming himself or his neighbors, especially those with children, as they fear that their kids may get attacked by the psychic when they go out to the grocery store or to any place in the neighborhood."
She explained: "The sister of our mentally ill neighbor told me that they were unable to continue his treatment because of their poor condition, which does not allow them to afford the costs of the required treatment and take him to a psychiatric hospital, especially in the absence of support from any party to help them with the costs of his treatment." Jumana concluded her statement to "Khuyut."
Spread of Assault Incidents
Many Yemeni cities witnessed aggressive attacks led to murdering by people with mental illnesses, causing catastrophic problems for their families with the families of the victims.
One of these painful stories is narrated by Jamila (29 years old), who was subjected to an attempted murder by her mentally ill brother. As a result of this incident, she was forced to leave her family home and moved to live at her brother house.
Jamila stated to "Khuyut" the causes for her brother's psychological condition, as she said that "it is resulting from the accumulation of problems and harsh living conditions, to the extent that he divorced his wife as a result of doubts and delusions that he possessed towards her because of his illness, and then his psychological condition worsened after that a lot, and he began to believe that everyone in the house was trying to kill him and get rid of him, and therefore he was trying to protect himself from me when he attempted to kill me."
In this regard, Dr. Munira Al-Nimar, head of the psychiatric unit at Al-Resalah Hospital in Sana'a, told "Khuyut": "Violence is used in a certain way sometimes to stabilize the aggressive state of the patient, but to a degree in which the psychic is not harmed, in order to protect him and others."
Helplessness and abandonment
Sakhr Al-Shadadi, a clinical psychologist, attributes to "Khuyut" the causes of the exacerbation of the number of mentally ill patients to conflicts, the economic situation, joblessness, and life pressures in general.
This is in light of the high costs of psychiatric services, which exceed the financial capabilities of most patients’ families, in addition to the stigma imposed by Yemeni society on the family in which a mental patient resides.
In his turn, Abdul Karim Ghanem, a professor and expert in sociology, draws attention to the fact that Yemen lacks the infrastructure in the field of mental health services, and the lack of psychiatric clinics/facilities, and shelters for mentally ill patients. As this prompted many families to give up seeking health family care for their mentally ill patients, with some people reaching a state of despair of their recovery and reintegration into social life.
