Enhancing Mental Health in Yemen: Amidst Legal Frameworks and Current Challenges

 Ahmed Bajoaim – Sawt Al-Amal (Voice of Hope)

Mental health is fundamental to the well-being of individuals and societies, significantly impacting quality of life, productivity, and overall behavior. In Yemen, mental health faces formidable challenges due to the volatile social, political, and economic climate that has persisted for nearly a decade. Armed conflicts have led to economic deterioration and insecurity, significantly affecting citizens.

The cumulative psychological pressure on individuals has resulted in a noticeable increase in mental health disorders.  Furthermore, the inadequacy of Yemeni law in addressing mental health exacerbates the suffering of those affected by these conditions. This is due to several factors, including the absence of clear legal provisions regulating the provision of mental health services.

The importance of laws and legislation extends beyond establishing regulatory frameworks. It includes ensuring the provision of mental health care services equitably and effectively. A robust legal system plays a pivotal role in strengthening mental health by guaranteeing access to specialized mental health services for all individuals without discrimination and protecting the rights of those with mental health conditions.

This report aims to explore the role of Yemeni law, international humanitarian law, and international human rights law in promoting mental health in Yemen.

Legal Frameworks in Yemen

Majid bin Ja’ah, a lawyer and researcher in international humanitarian law, states, “Yemeni laws related to mental health focus on protecting the rights of mental health patients and ensuring they receive necessary treatment and care. Yemeni lawmakers have enacted laws and policies to provide mental health services and prevent mental illness, ensuring patient rights, non-discrimination, legal protection, and the promotion of awareness campaigns highlighting the importance of individual mental health and the necessity of treatment.”

He further explains that international laws constitute a powerful system for strengthening mental health globally, including in Yemen. They work to protect individual rights and ensure access to appropriate mental health care through various international legal frameworks. One of the most important is the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, which emphasizes the right of all individuals to enjoy the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which focuses on the rights of people with mental and intellectual disabilities, obliges states to ensure that they have access to appropriate health and mental care. As well as the Declaration on the Rights of Mentally Ill Persons issued by the World Health Organization, which sets out guidelines for protecting the rights of mental patients.

He added that among the legal frameworks related to the International Covenant, Article 12 stipulates “the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.” The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), affirms “the right of persons with disabilities, including mental disabilities, to enjoy the highest attainable standard of health without discrimination based on disability.” Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) also states that “everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services.”

Bin Ja’ah continued, “International humanitarian law has clarified in the Geneva Conventions protocols that guarantee the protection of civilians, including mental patients, during armed conflicts. These protocols emphasize the need to provide necessary health care to all people affected by conflicts, including psychological care.”

National Strategies

Nada Baqadhi, mental health officer at the office of the Ministry of Public Health and Population in Al-Hodeidah Governorate, told Voice of Hope newspaper that national and international bodies are seeking to develop effective strategies to promote mental health in Yemen, perhaps most notably the World Health Organization’s strategy, which aims to reduce the exacerbation of mental disorders due to continued armed conflict and to raise awareness about the importance of mental health.

She also indicated that the Ministry of Public Health prepared in 2022 a national mental health strategy for the period from 2022 to 2026, with support from the World Health Organization. This strategy is an extension of the World Health Organization’s strategy. It includes many goals and programs that enhance integration between mental health services and other health care systems.

The organization explained that the strategy aims to facilitate access to mental health services for all segments of society and that it has undertaken to establish and rehabilitate about 47 health units dedicated to mental health in all Yemeni governorates to ensure the provision of safe services to the community, and to enhance the improvement of centers concerned with mental disorders across the country.

Despite efforts to promote mental health in Yemen, many challenges prevent all Yemenis from accessing the mental health services they need. Baqadhi pointed out that the psychosocial support program has not received due attention from the concerned authorities.

She explained that despite this, some efforts are being made to provide mental health services to citizens by activating the psychosocial support service in some health facilities, in cooperation between the health office in Al Hodeidah Governorate and development partners and international organizations. Specialized services are only provided to people suffering from mental and psychological illnesses, due to the deteriorating economic situation in the country, continued conflicts, increased displacement, and loss of livelihoods or loved ones.

Procedures and Regulations

Protecting the rights of mental patients is a shared responsibility. These rights aim to ensure that mental patients receive the necessary health care. Lawyer bin Ja’ah mentions that among the most important measures to protect the rights of mental patients and the obligations of health centers are respect for dignity and privacy. All those working in the field of mental health must treat patients with respect and dignity without discrimination based on age, sex, religion, race, or any other characteristic. The patient’s privacy must also be maintained and their personal information must not be shared with anyone else without their consent.

He also mentioned the importance of providing mental health care without discrimination, obtaining informed consent from patients, which must be voluntary and informed, providing accessible and comprehensive mental health services that meet the needs of all patients, and monitoring and evaluating mental health services to ensure their quality and effectiveness.

For her part, Nada Baqadhi mentioned a set of procedures and regulations related to protecting the rights of mental patients. These include building a relationship based on trust between the counselor and the mental patient, as well as the various parties involved, and providing the necessary health care to the mental patient according to the standards in this field. She called on the concerned authorities to reduce the negative effects of mental disorders in the lives of individuals, families, and society, and to enhance the integration of mental patients into society.

She added that among the procedures and regulations are respect for and promotion of independence and self-reliance among people with mental disorders, as well as their caregivers, through openness and transparency in providing information, as well as respect in dealing with patients and their families.

Recommendations for Improving the Health Situation

Baqadhi believes that one of the most important treatments to improve the health situation for cases suffering from mental health problems is to provide a safe and confidential environment for beneficiaries to share their feelings and thoughts without fear of judgment or discrimination. Additionally, it is crucial to provide a qualified staff of mental health professionals trained to provide counseling and psychological support services to attract cases, as well as help them cope with psychological pressures, whether these pressures are due to the economic situation, the social situation, or other pressures.

She continued, “Also among the most important treatments is involving the community in promoting positive mental well-being, and addressing the stigma that often surrounds mental and psychological illnesses, by conducting workshops and seminars, especially with community influencers in local councils, religious authorities, and neighborhood heads.”

She explained that this requires providing an operational budget for supervision, evaluation, and follow-up, as the psychological support program has not received attention from the ministry compared to other programs and establishing an effective referral system to link people with mental health problems with qualified and experienced professionals. This system should include referral to a mental health specialist, and the provision of other services such as food, shelter, physical health services, activating helplines for displaced persons and migrants in need of mental health services, and creating child-friendly spaces to support children’s mental health through safe play.

Yemen is experiencing a deep humanitarian crisis that casts a shadow over various aspects of life, and mental health is one of the most affected aspects of this crisis. Therefore, strengthening mental health in Yemen requires concerted efforts among various actors. The required efforts include strengthening national and international legislation to protect the rights of mental patients and ensure their access to necessary health care and implementing effective national and international strategies to promote mental health in Yemen. Legal, social, and psychological support for people with mental health problems is also an essential step towards improving the mental health of individuals and society as a whole.