The healthcare system has been decimated: medical staff have fled the country, facilities have been destroyed and medical supplies cut.
Ordinary people are bearing the brunt of this brutal conflict. Indiscriminate bombings have destroyed much of the country’s public infrastructure, including hospitals. Many of the country’s 50,000 health workers have not been paid since 2016 and have consequently left the public health system, forced to look for other sources of income.
Citizens experience airstrikes and sniper attacks, and endure severe water shortages. A fuel blockade has further contributed to this humanitarian crisis. The Saudi-led coalition’s continued blockage of the main aid routes into the country is another, particularly punitive, measure against a defenseless civilian population.
Even where medical facilities are operational, most Yemenis cannot always afford the cost of transportation to reach them. This means they are unable to seek timely care, and easily curable health conditions are turning deadly when left untreated. Women often give birth at home and seek care only when complications occur.
As a result of conflict, it is difficult for people to access clean water and dispose of waste. This has led to several outbreaks of cholera.
In response to the 2017 cholera outbreak, we opened 37 cholera treatment centres and oral rehydration points and admitted over 100,000 patients.
The nutritional situation in Yemen is dire. Due to insecurity and access constraints we are unable to survey the status of the population at large. Malnutrition among children remains high. admissions to MSF's intensive therapeutic feeding centre in Khamer hospital doubled in September 2018 when compared to the previous year.
