Famine Shows Its Adverse Impact On Yemen While Saudi’s Fuel Blockade Is Making It Worse

 

People of Yemen are living in a tragic tale that hasn’t seen happiness for a long era. Hassan Ali was admitted to the hospital because his condition was deteriorating. The 10-month -old boy still made to see the doctors at the hospital and suddenly, there was little hope that he might be alright. The doctors thought they could save the boy as well. Unlike most children in northern Yemen, patients can’t even reach the hospital in an emergency. The people are not only starving on food, they lack enough fuel to find medical help in the hour of need.

The doctors and nurses tried to nurture the baby and helped him to give oxygen because he could not breathe. He was born six days earlier than his time but he couldn’t gain weight. Meanwhile, his struggle to inhale oxygen was increasing. A few moments later, Hassan passed away in the hospital.

If you look at the hospital ward, you will see that it’s a common phenomenon at Yemen hospitals. The ward is a living proof of crisis filled up with children who are getting worse from malnutrition, including babies just weeks old.

Yemen was badly affected by famine for six long years while the war was destroying everything. For the last two years, the country was blessed not to have famine conditions. But the reality is gruesome in Yemen. Famine has returned here and it’s killing everyone from starvation.

This is a catastrophe in the modern world and more than 47,000 people are under it. According to an analysis by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), at least 16 million people are trapped in the famine condition. They are living their lives in a “crisis” or “emergency” food security state. The number of people suffering from the scarcity is food is more than half of Yemen’s population.

The condition gets worse because the funding is cut down to organize activities by agencies like the World Food Programme. These agencies can’t meet the basic needs to provide for millions of families in Yemen.

“If fuel were easily available on the market, the number of cases we are seeing in the hospital would be much higher, because, at the moment, there are patients who are staying at home, because of the challenges and expenses of traveling to the hospital,” Dr. Salah said.

He said that the children are dying at their homes.

The World Health Organization has the responsibility to give critical funding to hospitals and medical clinics.

“From March 2021, WHO will have to stop distributing fuel to 206 facilities across the country, over 60 percent are hospitals providing services not available at the already fragile primary level. This will lead to the stoppage of life-saving services, such as emergency rooms and intensive care units, including COVID-19 ICUs. Over 9 million people will be affected,” it said in a document.