War in Yemen is fueling wider humanitarian crisis

A collapsed health system

Since the war escalated in 2015 medical staff and health facilities have been attacked, leaving hospitals damaged, destroyed, or severely under-resourced and cutting off thousands of people from essential health services. MSF hospitals alone have been hit five times by airstrikes led by the Saudi- and Emirati-led Coalition (SELC).

As a result, Yemenis are forced to travel long distances—sometimes across front lines—to reach the country’s few remaining health facilities, often with deadly consequences: pregnant women with complications arrive late, and people suffering war-related injuries lose precious minutes before being stabilized. The collapse of Yemen’s health system has also led to outbreaks of preventable diseases like diphtheria, measles, and cholera.

A spike in measles cases was reported from late December 2018 to February 2019. Though the number of new cases has slightly decreased following vaccination campaigns launched by the Ministry of Health and other groups, the situation remains worrisome. In 2018, MSF teams in Abs, Haydan, Ibb, Khamer, and Taiz treated 1,787 for the highly contagious disease.

Desperate need

Widespread unemployment, restrictions on imports, and depreciation of the country’s currency caused by the war mean Yemenis struggle to access and afford even the most basic commodities like fuel, food, and medicine. Non-payment or partial payment of Yemeni civil servants’ salaries have further crippled services in the country, especially with regard to health care.

Much more humanitarian assistance is desperately needed in Yemen, in addition to the easing of administrative restrictions on access both into and within the country for humanitarian workers and international nongovernmental organizations. The warring parties and countries involved in the conflict must work to alleviate the suffering of Yemeni civilians, which will only deepen as the war drags on.