Ann Med Med Res | Volume 6, Issue 1 | Short Communication | Open Access

Psychological Effects of Yemeni War on Children Education

Ali Alsubari AM1*, Aljalei MH2, Al-Yousefi SS3, Al-Fakih WA4, Al-Atnah HA5, Alqadasi HK6, Al- Haijah ZM6, Al-Sharjabi HFA6, Saif NM6, Gashan AM6 and Ali Basha THQ6

1Department of General Medicine and Surgery, Sana'a University, Yemen
2Psychiatric Resident, National Center of Mental Health, Jordan
321 September University for Medical and Applied Sciences, Yemen
4Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Al-Thawra Modern General Hospital, Sana'a University, Yemen
5Emirates International University, Yemen
6Sana'a University, Yemen

*Correspondance to: Asma'a Munasar Ali Alsubari 

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Abstract

Children in Yemen bear the brunt of the warfare that began in March 2015 where over 2 million
children are not attending school, over 4 million require assistance to access education, and more
than 20% of all primary and secondary schools are closed. Given the scarcity of data and the lack
of prior research, this paper aims to investigate the relationship between Yemeni children's mental
health and its consequences on the quality of education, academic level, and school desertion. We
searched databases and identified articles, of which were included and taken from academic sources,
governmental and non-governmental organizations. Exposure of Yemeni children to warfare
poses serious mental health risks to their development. The pivotal key factors include child army
enlistment, threatened personal safety and security, bombarding of schools or their conversion
to military bases, financial inability of families to enroll their children in private schools, and
displacement with resultant regional discrimination. Additionally, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD) manifests in the form of anxiety, lack of concentration and social phobia, with children’s
inability to seek psychiatric therapy due to social stigma surrounding it. Yemen, a once thriving
country on the verge of infrastructural collapse and deteriorating educational and healthcare
systems, is a prime example of the need for global assistance to maintain the mental wellbeing of
its children. Yemen's government must develop a national mental health policy to allocate enough
funding for mental healthcare and alter society’s perception of mental health and break the stigma
of psychiatric therapy.

Keywords:

Yemen; Children education; Children; War effect; Mental disorders; Mental health; Schools

Citation:

Ali Alsubari AM, Aljalei MH, Al-Yousefi SS, Al-Fakih WA, Al-Atnah HA, Alqadasi HK, et al. Psychological Effects of Yemeni War on Children Education. Ann Med Medical Res. 2023; 6: 1063..

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