The Impact of the Saudi Imposed Siege on Yemenis
YemenExtra
As Yemen enters its seventh year of the Saudi-led war on it, the suffering of the blockade and aggression doubles, especially in terms of the humanitarian effects that are getting worse, and the Yemenis are paying the price for it.
Although civilians’ deaths exceeded 43,000, 17,000 of which were women and children, and the infrastructure is almost completely destroyed, in addition to the blockade imposed on the airports and sea, the prevention of the free movement of goods and patients remains the most harmful to the Yemenis and annually results in thousands of victims.
According to the Supreme Council for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 67% of Yemenis are in need of food aid, and about 20% of the population are a step away from famine.
Regarding the health sector, government indicators confirm that millions of patients have lost adequate health care, as 50% of the health sector has lost its ability to work, and the remaining 50% barely hold up and continue their work, as the aggressors destroyed 523 medical facilities with their airstrike.
Also, as a result of the blockade, 93% of the health sector equipment exceeded its life span, for the Saudi aggressors prevent the entry of any equipment into the country.
Sanaa Airport Closure
The closure of Sanaa International Airport by the Saudi aggressive coalition, which violates the UN resolutions that did not authorize this, mainly contributed to more pressure and burdens the health sector and pushed thousands of Yemeni patients to inevitable death.
Sanaa airport, with its vital location, serves 80% of Yemenis, and its closure has caused great suffering and hindered the arrival of life-saving medicines that are impossible to transport by land or by sea over long distances. In 2020 alone, 150 children suffering from heart diseases died, and there are still 3,000 more children who could die if the airport stays closed.
The Medical bridge
In 2018, February, the World Health Organization (WHO) was entrusted with managing a humanitarian air bridge to transport people with incurable diseases, whom 35,000 were officially registered, by operating humanitarian flights from Sanaa airport to specific countries to receive treatment for those who cannot be treated in Yemen and have special conditions. However, for two years, the organization has only transferred 28 and 20 patients and wasted more than 5 million dollars allocated as an initial budget for the project signed between international organizations and the Sana’a government.
The Tragedy Accumulates
The closure of airports, the prevention of ship entry to Hodeidah airport, which violates the Stockholm Agreement, the comprehensive punishment Saudis use against Yemeni by imposing an overall siege on the country has led to an increase in the humanitarian crisis all over Yemen:
24.8 million people are in need of food aid, equivalent to 67% of the Yemeni population, and 5.1 million people are a step away from famine.
16 million people need health services, among them 11 million people are in desperate need of health care and medicine; 4 million children are malnourished and one million pregnant and lactating women suffer from acute malnutrition.
The registration of 120,000 patients in the Medical Bridge, who can not be treated in Yemen.
-3,000 children with cardiac malformations face certain death.
-More than 7,000 children suffer from chronic diseases that are difficult to treat in Yemen.
– 700 patients with leukemia who need to travel abroad to specialized centers for treatment.
– 500 patients needing urgent liver transplantation in specialized centers abroad.
Local and international organizations assert that unless the siege is lifted and the aggression is stopped, all the aforementioned statistics will continue to rise each day.