Yemen Leaves Behind 2018 with Heavy Death Toll from Saudi War, Famine, Disease (+Video)
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Yemen struggled with damaged infrastructure and crippled health system in 2018 and is being pushed to the brink of famine as the near four-year Saudi war rumbles on the country.
At the Al Gomhoriyeh Hospital in Sana'a, little bodies cry out in pain.
These children are ill but Yemen's faltering health care system is making it harder to get them the treatment they need, AP reported.
Those wounded in the fighting, cholera cases and people with chronic diseases are putting an almost intolerable strain on the country's medical facilities.
In Sana'a, a diphtheria outbreak in January 2018 was exacerbated by a Saudi naval blockade imposed by the Saudi-led coalition.
Urgent medicine has been unable to get to where it is needed most.
The charity Save the Children said in a statement that Yemeni children are bearing the brunt of what it described as "the worst diphtheria outbreak for a generation."
The outbreak hit Ibb and Hudaydah provinces the hardest, meaning that many of the sick and their families have to travel to the capital for treatment, which can take days.
And there are hidden dangers when travelling anywhere in the country.
A prosthetics center in Taiz, supported by the ICRC, is working to produce the endless amount of artificial limbs needed.
But as the demand for such limbs continues, the staff say they are being hit by a shortage in materials.
The UN says Yemen is the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
Saudi-led airstrikes have killed thousands of civilians and destroyed hospitals, schools and markets.
More than 22 million people, three quarters of the population, need humanitarian aid and protection, funded by international donors.
But the pledges are never enough. Children in rural areas are still dying from malnutrition
And at this hospital in Hudaydah, the ramifications of the conflict are all the more evident.
Along with food shortages, there's a lack of clean drinking water which spreads disease.
Yemen was plagued with numerous cholera outbreaks during 2018.
The ongoing death and destruction is also taking a toll on its citizens' mental health.
But a first-of-its-kind organization in the capital is helping locals to deal with the psychological stress.
With hospitals still under pressure, the health system is on the brink of flat lining.
As well as the naval blockade, the closure of Sana'a international airport is preventing millions of people from being able to receive medical treatment.
