We Can Not Act as Health Authorities in Yemen as It Faces Collapse: UN Coordinator in Yemen

YemenExtra

M.A.

“The United Nations and humanitarian organizations working in Yemen can not act as health authorities in a country that is in a state of collapse which has contributed to the spread of cholera,” said Jamie McGoldrick, resident coordinator for humanitarian affairs in Yemen.

McGoldrick said at a press conference held today at the UN Office in Sana’a that what humanitarian affairs in Yemen are attempting to get done is target the most vulnerable to alleviate their suffering from current conditions, famine and cholera.

He noted that the United Nations is trying to communicate with the international community of donors to urge them to support the collapsed services sector and help strengthen its capabilities in the country, as well as try to compensate salaries through consultations with donors .. “These efforts continue”, he stressed.

Moreover, he pointed out that the cholera disaster has diffused far more than the capacity of the Yemeni health sector to respond as 45 percent of the health and medical facilities do not have the potential to work at full capacity.

According to information from global health, cholera has spread to 21 governorates and the only province where the epidemic has not been detected is Socotra, a Yemeni island.

Read more

• Yemen’s Cholera Epidemic Keeps Getting Worse
• Cholera kills more than 1,614: Yemeni Health Ministry

The resident coordinator for humanitarian affairs in Yemen said the latest figures from the World Health Organization confirms that the number of suspected cases of cholera epidemic in Yemen exceeded 284 thousand cases and took the lives of 1657 Yemenis.

“The epidemic is spreading more intensively in four governorates than the others. They are the capital Sana’a, Hajja, Amran and Hodeidah. It affects children under the age of five who represent 40% of the registered cases”, he noted.

“The humanitarian organizations continue to suffer from restrictions on the movement of humanitarian aid and the movement of persons, in addition to damage to infrastructure, bridges and roads hindering the operation. Furthermore, there is a limited capacity possessed by the port of Hodeidah due to restrictions imposed or damage, leaving commercial vessels and humanitarian aid with no option but to go through other roads that are more complicated, difficult and costly”, he went on.

He also added that the continued closure of Sana’a International Airport exacerbates the suffering to those who need to travel for medical or other reasons.

The Resident Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs urged all parties to allow the Yemeni people to continue their normal lives and permit humanitarian organizations to freely transport, bring relief and assistance to all areas of Yemen.