The majority of the mentally ill patients admitted at the Juba Teaching Hospital are young people of adolescent age, according to psychiatrists at the hospital.

Mental illness is a general term for a group of illnesses that may include symptoms that can affect a person’s thinking, perceptions, mood or behavior.

The Psychiatric Department at the public health facility is currently treating more than 100 patients with mental health conditions.

The available statistics at the hospital shows that the ages of the mentally ill patients currently registered at the hospital range between 15 and 24 years.

They partly attributed the situation to drug abuse among young people.

“I’m appealing to the government of South Sudan to at least open one rehabilitation center so we can help some patients, because the environment here is not conducive for our patients,” said Emanuel Duku Philip, doctor at the psychiatric department at Juba Teaching Hospital.

On Wednesday, South Sudan joined the rest of the world in commemorating the World Mental Health Day.