SANA'A July 19. 2023 (Saba) -The negative repercussions left by the US-Saudi aggression as a result of the closure of Sana'a International Airport more than eight years ago were not limited to depriving thousands of patients of traveling abroad, but also extended to those with incurable chronic diseases due to the lack of medicines as a result of the blockade.
Perhaps the death of a woman while boarding the Yemeni Airlines plane at Sana’a International Airport, heading to the Kingdom of Jordan, affected by the complications of the disease she has been suffering from for a long time and the worsening of her health condition.
The biggest evidence of the tragedy experienced by the people of Yemen in general, including preventing patients from traveling for treatment abroad, especially those whose illness requires urgent travel.
The international silence on the issue of the blockade in Yemen raises many questions and proves the falsity of the allegations of the United Nations working for human rights and principles related to human dignity.
It is unfortunate that the aggression coalition prevented the arrival of specialized medical missions to alleviate the suffering of patients inside Yemen, the latest of which was the prevention of the Italian medical mission that was scheduled to arrive in Sana'a to perform operations related to children's heart defects.
The Minister of Public Health and Population, Dr. Taha Al-Mutawakel, said that as a result of the continuation of the siege and the closure of Sana'a International Airport for patients to travel for treatment abroad, the ministry sought to bring medical missions to Sana'a to alleviate the suffering of patients, but the aggression prevented that.
He stressed that the arrival of medical delegations to Sana'a is the best way to save thousands of patients, because less than 10% of patients are able to travel in light of the blockade and its consequences.
The Minister of Health added, "The aggression prevented the entry of an Italian medical mission that includes specialists in pediatric heart surgery to Sana'a, where it imposes a slow death on 3,000 children with heart defects."
He explained that Sana'a airport is still under siege, so it is not possible to bring in radioactive devices or import medicines directly, or bring in medical personnel or life-saving medicines.
Al-Mutawakel also stressed that the death of a sick woman on the steps of the plane at Sana'a airport is nothing but a case where patients die in the hundreds as a result of the blockade. He indicated that the continuation of the blockade exacerbates the suffering of a large segment of Yemenis.
Especially those who suffer from illness, especially after the reduction of flights through Sana’a International Airport from six flights per week to only three flights to one destination, Jordan, in addition to the difficulty of obtaining reservations.
The health minister considered the blockade imposed by the aggression countries as a war crime against humanity on the Yemeni people because of its devastating effects on a people suffering a human tragedy in full view of the international community, which stands by and claims to glorify human rights.
For his part, the official spokesman for the Ministry of Health, Dr. Anis Al-Asbahi, stated that the number of sick cases that require treatment abroad exceeds 30,000, pointing out that the number is increasing at a rate of 100 cases per week, most of which are incurable diseases.
He stated that only 2,400 patients were able to travel for treatment to Jordan during the whole year.
Dr. Al-Asbahi stressed the need to expand the destinations for medical flights due to the insufficiency of flights to Jordan on the one hand and the availability of treatment for some cases in other countries on the other hand.
He pointed out that the delay in opening other medical destinations results in dozens of deaths per week.
He explained that preventing the aggression coalition from entering medicines, especially medicines for patients with cancer, thalassemia and incurable diseases, exacerbates the catastrophic humanitarian situation and threatens the lives of tens of thousands of patients.
The official spokesman of the Ministry of Health considered the blockade the silent killer of Yemenis, and its effects are expected to extend to about the next 20 years if peace is not reached.
While a report issued by the Ministry of Public Health and Population indicated that more than 3,000 children with heart defects, 500 with terminal liver failure, and 2,000 cases in need of corneal transplantation, cannot travel abroad for treatment as a result of the closure of Sana'a International Airport.
Regarding the drug blockade, the aggression caused the transportation of 362 life-saving items to be hindered, they need refrigeration and speedy arrival by imposing restrictions on Sana’a airport and Hodeida port.
Especially blood derivatives, hormonal and immunological drugs, serums, blood clotting inhibitors, resuscitation and anesthesia drugs, and some laboratory and diagnostic solutions.
He emphasized the decline in the import rate to approximately 60 percent of the average import of the years before the aggression, and the aggression prevented the arrival of raw materials for the local pharmaceutical industries.
The report indicated that the arbitrary measures of the aggression coalition impeded the work of 83 companies and importers who were providing 1,329 vital types of medicines, while the number of international companies that closed their market in Yemen reached 16 companies that provided 559 important items.
It pointed out that the ministry's programs are no longer able to disburse medicines for chronic diseases due to their high cost due to the lack of budgets, as they were disbursed free of charge to thousands of patients, and the closure of Sana'a airport and the port of Hodeida exacerbated the suffering of the health sector and its needs for medicine, equipment and fuel.
It also pointed out that humanitarian support for the health sector was reduced to zero by March 2023, although it provided only 15 percent of the need during 2022.
The report noted that among the negative effects of the aggression on medical equipment and supplies as a result of the blockade is the wear and tear of 98% of medical devices and their work outside their default life, the difficulty of entering spare parts for these devices, and preventing the arrival of vital medical equipment to Yemen for the treatment of chronic diseases and tumors in particular.
It stated that, according to a recent survey conducted in 89 government hospitals, the number of broken devices that have not been repaired due to the war and the siege reached five thousand and 177 devices.
In addition, the life-saving devices for cancer patients were out of service due to the prevention of the entry of radioactive material into the country, which endangered the lives of many insolvent patients to death.
According to the report, a number of qualitative medical devices went out of service as a result of the inability to import basic components due to the blockade, such as resonance devices that need to be supplied with helium gas by fast shipping by air.
That led to the failure of all resonance devices in the country in the public and private sectors, and the delay in the process of repairing medical devices due to the delay in permits from the aggression countries, caused the high costs of maintaining vital devices and leaving them out of service.
J.A
resource : SABA
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