HRITC appeals to the international community to quickly rescue Yemen from a major health disaster
Human Rights Information and Training Center (HRITC) forewarned in a statement today that Yemen is heading towards a major catastrophe that
will cause the collapse of the health sector and the deterioration of health services throughout Yemen.
In addition, the center said in a statement today on World Health Day that this sector was subjected to a real process of destruction during the years of the current war, and that it lost nearly 70 % of its already weak capabilities.
As successive governments in Yemen have not paid enough attention in these thirty-five years. The total spending on health care in the years before the uprising for the previous regime in 2011 was only 3.7% of the GDP of the already weak state, and spending per capita for health care was very low compared to other countries in the Middle East.
According to the World Bank, the number of doctors in Yemen increased by more than 7 per cent between 1995 and 2000, but as of 2004, there were only three doctors per 100,000 people and 0.6 beds available per 1,000 people.
The health sector in Yemen faced many challenges, the most important of which are: The low share of health in public spending, which ranges between approximately (3-4) percentage, which made many health centers suffer from a lack of equipment and financial resources and technical and medical cadres, in addition to the limited spread of health services, especially in Countryside.
Since the Houthi group’s coup against legitimate state institutions in September 2014, the situation has deteriorated rapidly, and Yemenis have
lost that little that was in the health sector.
During the past five years, the war represented a double disaster for this important sector.
As many health facilities were destroyed, the need doubled due to the spread of diseases and epidemics, the increasing number of warwounded, and the departure of various medical personnel.
HRITC said that a thorough investigation into the extent of the serious violations that affected health institutions and the medical staff in Yemen has not yet been done correctly, but there are real indications that serious crimes have been committed against health workers and medical facilities that may amount to war crimes, for example, what Taiz hospitals have suffered from Systematic bombardment by the Houthi forces reached more than eleven times, most of them deliberately and without the justification of clashes.
In Sana’a, Aden and Al-Hodeidah, nearly half of the health institutions’ capacity went out of work due to the war, as well as the looting of hospitals.
Foreign aid to the health sector has not escaped the seizure of fighters.
Combat forces have also used ambulances and medical badges for military purposes in serious breaches of international humanitarian law.
According to previous statistics, the number of central government hospitals does not exceed twenty hospitals distributed in the main cities, about half of which are now out of full service.
There were about 4085 health facilities, of which 2,302 were first-aid clinics, most of which lacked the most basic health services.
The statement of the Human Rights Information and Traning Center , a regional organization holding consultative status with the Economic and Social Council at the United Nations, mentioned the seriousness of the deterioration of the situation of health workers, as the Houthi militias controlling Sanaa and some northern regions dismissed 569 employees from cadres, staff, doctors and nurses whom They do not believe in her ideas, among them are (174) male and female doctors, (312) administrators, and (83) male and female nurses.
The Center appealed to the international community to give this sector the highest priority, especially with the increased risk of possible spread of the Coronavirus, which will make Yemen in a more severe disaster.
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HRITC appeals to the international community to quickly rescue Yemen from a major health disaster
