SANA’A, July 4 — Amat al-Razzak Hammed, the Yemeni Minister of Social Affairs and Labor, confirmed that the number of people suffering from psychological disorders in Yemen is increasing daily, due to the difficult circumstances in Yemen.

In a seminar held in Sana'a about addiction, depression and the rights of the mentally disabled, Hammed said many people suffering from psychological problems are held in prisons. Others are kept in psychiatric hospitals that lack appropriate tools and medicine.

The minister said the reasons behind the increasing numbers of mentally disabled in Yemen include a lack of specialist hospitals available in the country to treat them. She also said poverty played a significant role, as families of the mentally disabled are often unable to afford the high prices of medicine.

Hammed declared that the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor has a plan to take care of the mentally disabled; funding, however, remains an issue due to Yemen’s current political and economic climate.

For his part, Sameer Khairi Redha, a member of the Yemeni parliament and a member of the Health and Population Committee in parliament, said Yemen is undergoing a very difficult phase, especially for politicians. He warned that politicians will suffer psychological disorder because of the “situation”.

He stressed that those who carry out acts of sabotage against power lines are suffering from psychological disorders and must be treated.

Dr. Ahmed Qasim Al-Ansi, the Minister of Public Health and Population, said the situation in Yemen requires the support of all Yemenis to overcome the factors causing such psychological problems.

“Societal ignorance causes the spread of mental disease," Dr. Abdulmajeed Al-Khulaidi, head of the Yemen Association of Psychiatrists and Neurologists, said. His work confronts the difficulties and challenges that face potential mental health laws.