The disclosure was made by Deputy Health Minister and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Francis N. Kateh at the Ministry of Information press briefing Thursday in Monrovia.

He said the country which has a population of more than 4 million has only two psychiatrics; one of whom, he said, is inactive, a situation that leaves the estimated 400,000 mentally ill people with only one active psychiatric.

Dr. Kateh noted “What we are endeavoring to do as a means of breaching the gap is to train some of our medical doctors that have interest in becoming psychiatrics.”

He however described the situation as totally unacceptable for an entire country to have 400,000 people to a psychiatric.

Meanwhile, the Liberian Chief Medical Officer has lamented the huge number of liver disease cases discovered in the country in the past three years adding, “this experience cannot be compared to the past and is seen particularly in the colony of young people.”

Dr. Kateh is at the same time calling on Liberians particularly young people to refrain from the consumption of alcohol and drugs.

He also stressed the need for consolidated efforts on the part of all Liberians and institutions to join the campaign that will curtail the growing wave of alcohol and drug abuse.

He added: “Unless this is done, the future of Liberia will become very, very terrible.”

LINA/BMK/JGT/TSS