OREANDA-NEWS. December 28, 2010. In his speech at today’s meeting of the Public Humanitarian Council, Executive Director of the Ukrainian-American Bureau for the Protection of Human Rights, Executive Secretary Ukrainian Psychiatric Association Semyon Gluzman thanked President Viktor Yanukovych for the attention to the problems of people with disabilities.

"Over the last 20 years this is the first time the President dedicates attention to the subject. And I see that this is not a mere formality. Now I realize that this is a chance to break the wall down, though not fast," Semyon Gluzman said.

He stressed that Ukraine, as the whole civilized world, should focus efforts on protecting the rights of persons with disabilities, including those with mental illnesses.

"Of course, there is a problem of boarding schools and other unresolved serious issues, but we should probably start with school and family. Poor learning children must not put in boarding schools for the mentally retarded," he said.

"We inherited about a 100 psychiatric hospitals and 200 psychiatric boarding schools from the Soviet Union. After 20 years we still have as many hospitals and boarding schools. Our choosing to maintain so many orphanages and hospitals over outpatient treatment may suggest that we are a very rich country. The whole world has been committed for a long time to protecting mentally ill patients for two simple reasons – it is not only humane, but also it pays," Semyon Gluzman said.