Hussain Bisad, who has had health problems, says government should do more for people with physical or mental illness. When Hussain Bisad first settled in north London as an asylum seeker after fleeing from war in Somalia 23 years ago, he did so in the hope of a new and more settled life. Little did he know that shortly after arriving he would be at the centre of the media spotlight, not for his story of escaping conflict but for something altogether different: his height.
Bisad had been in the UK for five months when Guinness World Records measured his height as 2.3 metres (7ft 6.5in), making him then the world’s tallest living man. The Sun excitedly proclaimed “World’s Tallest Man Lives in Neasden” and he was even featured on the US morning talkshow Live with Regis and Kelly. It was a far cry from his life in Somalia, where he grew up with his twin sister, who is 1.65m.
Looking back, Bisad’s difficult journey did not end with his flight from his home country. Bisad deals with health problems associated with acromegaly (gigantism), the rare health condition marked by height noticeably above average where the body produces too much growth hormone.
In 2016 his health deteriorated and he went into a coma for six months, triggered by meningitis and anaemia. He moved into a care home between 2017 and 2024, a time he refers to as “a dark period in my life”. Now, Bisad urges that the government should assess vulnerable people differently and “give them more compassion and kindness. Because now with these new rules of universal credit, people don’t get what they are entitled to, because when somebody has mental illness, they sometimes can’t provide certain details because of their illness and get what they need.”.
