Responding to Yemen's unseen mental health crisis

Responding to Yemen's unseen mental health crisis

12 June 2022 - Mohamed (not his real name) is a 35-year-old patient at the Al Amal hospital in Sana’a – one of only four hospitals in Yemen providing care to persons with mental disorders.

Mohamed (not his real name) is a 35-year-old patient at the Al Amal hospital in Sana’a – one of only four hospitals in Yemen providing care to persons with mental disorders.

A father of four, Mohamed is isolated from his wife and children. He thinks about them constantly.

“They have nothing to eat,” he says, eyes welled with tears. “All I am worried about is my children going hungry, while I must stay here for my treatment. I miss them. They have no one to support them.”

Outside the hospital walls, Mohamed faces social stigma and shame, because of widespread misinformation, ignorance, and discriminatory attitudes about mental illness in Yemen.

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Arabic version of the story