The health system in Yemen is nearing collapse due to escalating conflicts. The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday about the outbreak of diseases such as cholera that are widely circulating.
Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen
A new ground campaign launched by Iran-backed Houthis against Yemen's government forces, supported by Saudi Arabia, has claimed hundreds of lives and deepened the existing humanitarian crisis. According to UN statistics, at least 145,000 people have been displaced from their homes this month alone.
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The health system in Yemen, which has been affected by civil war for over a decade, is now on the verge of collapse. Anthea Heinzelmann, WHO's emergency director for the Eastern Mediterranean region, stated: "The latest escalation of conflicts is pushing Yemen's already fragile health system towards collapse."
Health Challenges and Need for Assistance
Inadequate safety, damaged infrastructure, the displacement of healthcare personnel, shortages of medicines and medical supplies, and limited access to Yemen's western coast have hindered many people's access to necessary health services. Heinzelmann added: "In severely affected areas like Taiz, Lahij, and Hodeidah, no health center or asset has been damaged, disabled, closed, or directly attacked."
Additionally, maternal and neonatal special care in two hospitals in Marib and Ras al-Arah has been suspended due to a lack of personnel and operational capacity to care for the injured. Even before this escalation, only about 60% of Yemen's health facilities were fully operational.
The country is grappling with a high rate of malnutrition and the outbreak of diseases such as cholera that is "already widely circulating." Since the beginning of this year, Yemen has recorded nearly 8,000 suspected cholera cases and over 9,600 dengue cases, including 22 and 37 deaths respectively.
The World Health Organization announced that nearly 60 tons of medical supplies have been delivered to 40 facilities in 10 provinces of Yemen. However, several supply lines for essential medicines in the WHO's Aden warehouse have now reached zero, including trauma kits and essential medicines.
Heinzelmann concluded by calling for increased funding to respond to this crisis, stating that the World Health Organization has so far secured only $2 million of the $9 million it needs.
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