20% of Yemeni citizens suffer from mental health disorders — UNFPA

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Yemen has said that twenty per cent of people in Yemen suffer from mental health disorders.

UNFPA, in a statement issued on World Mental Health Day, said, “The figures are based on a study conducted by the Family Counselling and Development Foundation in 2017,”

UNFPA noted that the number is likely to have increased due to the coronavirus pandemic and nearly six years of war in the country.

It added that “The proportion of psychiatrists per population is insufficient, while some of the few existing mental health services have closed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

It therefore called for “greater investment” in mental health this year since it is “most timely and opportune for Yemen as humanitarian actors tackle the reduction of funding and challenges imposed by COVID-19 that are hampering the scaling up of quality and specialized services for mental health.”