Health Ministry reveals extent of Saudi-led aggression’s destruction of healthcare infrastructure
SANAA, Aug. 27 (YPA) – The Ministry of Public Health and Population revealed on Saturday some of the damages of the Saudi-led coalition’s blockade and aggression on the health sector in Yemen.
During a press conference, the ministry stressed that the victims amounted to hundreds of thousands, adding that the limited opening of Sanaa Airport and the port of Hodeida under the UN-sponsored truce does not meet the minimum needs of the health sector and the needs of patients.
It said the US-Saudi aggression killed 15,483 citizens and injured 31,598 others, noting that 25 percent of the victims were children and women.
The ministry indicated that the aggression destroyed 162 health facilities completely and 375 partially and put them out of work.
It revealed that 66 medical personnel were killed by US-Saudi direct bombing, and 70 ambulances were destroyed, while the aggression continues to prevent the payment of the salaries of health sector cadres and employees.
Regarding the repercussions of the siege on the health situation in Yemen, the ministry confirmed that the blockade has raised acute malnutrition rates to more than 632 thousand children under the age of five and 1.5 million pregnant and lactating women.
The Ministry indicated that 40,320 pregnant women and 103,680 children died during the 8 years of the continuous siege on Yemen.
The siege and intense bombardment with prohibited weapons caused a high rate of congenital abnormalities and miscarriages, with an average of 350,000 miscarriages and 12,000 malformations.
The Ministry of Health indicated that as a result of the siege, premature births increased to 8% compared to the situation before the aggression, at a rate of 22,599 cases annually. The blockade has also caused an increase in the number of cancer patients by 50%, and the number of cases reached 46,204 cases registered during the year 2021.
The ministry indicated that the aggression prevented the entry of vital medical equipment, while international companies have refrained from supplying medicines to Yemen as a result of the blockade, pointing out that aid shipments expired as a result of their stay in Djibouti as a forced station for the passage of aid to Yemen.
The Ministry of Health stressed that lifting the siege and stopping the aggression completely is the first and correct step to address the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.
E.M