40 Patients Escape Kenyan Psychiatric Hospital As Guards Overpowered

After 70 mentally ill patients overpowered the guards at a Kenyan psychiatric facility, 40 of them escaped and were being sought by police on Monday.

Samuel Anampiu, the police chief in charge of the area where Mathari Mental Hospital sits, said police were searching for the men who escaped from the hospital, the country's only public facility of its type, The Associated Press reported.

Urgent: Is Obamacare Hurting Your Wallet? Vote in Poll

Anampiu says the escapees had earlier complained that the drugs they were being given are ineffective.

Mental health care in Kenya suffers from a lack of funding. Poverty, a lack of access and the stigma associated with mental disorders prevent many patients from getting good assistance.

Related stories:

38 Die in Mental Hospital Fire in Russia; Nurse, 2 Patients Survive

China Passes Law to Curb Abuse of Mental Hospitals