© Reuters. The logo of the World Health Organization on its headquarters in Geneva – Photo from the Reuters archive.
ADEN (Reuters) – The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Sunday it had launched Yemen’s national mental health strategy, in a move aimed at curbing the exacerbation of mental disorders due to the eight-year war in the impoverished country.
The organization added in a statement that the launch of the strategy, in cooperation with the World Bank and health authorities in the internationally recognized Yemeni government, aims to reduce the growing burden of mental health disorders in Yemen.
The World Health Organization said in a report in August that more than eight million Yemenis, or one in four people, suffer from mental, psychological and social problems due to armed conflict, forced displacement, unemployment, food shortages and other harsh conditions.
The organization pointed out that the eight-year war in Yemen and the collapsed economy has paralyzed health facilities and exacerbated mental illnesses that affect all segments of society.
The conflict in Yemen has caused most of the state’s psychiatric hospitals to close or cease to function.
(Press coverage for the Arab Bulletin, Riam Muhammad Makhshef – Editing by Ahmed Maher)