Analyzing the different aspects of the humanitarian and health situation in Yemen last year

Mehr News Agency, Intergroup International: Yemen was the poorest Arab country in the West Asian region until the 2015 war. This war has worsened the situation in Yemen in such a way that this country was facing the biggest humanitarian disaster in the world in the 21st century until the October 7 war in Gaza. Although the war had stopped for the past year, the human and economic consequences of 8 years of war were still there. In this article, the humanitarian and health situation in Yemen is briefly reviewed in the past year.

1. Fragile humanitarian situation in Yemen

Despite the continuation of the ceasefire and the cessation of war in Yemen, many elements of its humanitarian crisis persist; The situation in this country is fragile. The statistics show the fragility of the situation in Yemen:

In 2023, about 21.6 million people in Yemen, equivalent to 67% of the country’s population, will need humanitarian assistance and protection services. They had that 11 million people are children.

Nearly 17 million Yemenis are facing acute food insecurity; Malnutrition has reached unprecedented levels in this country, which is among the highest in the world.

The United Nations Children’s Fund “UNICEF” has announced that about 6 million children in Yemen are only one step away from starvation and They need immediate support.

2 million 200 thousand Yemeni children under 5 years old and 1 million 300 thousand pregnant and lactating women suffer from acute malnutrition.

More than 4,500,000 Yemenis are internally displaced.

14 million and 500 thousand Yemenis do not have access to safe and sanitary water.

The access of Yemeni students to schools is limited and education for other children is not a priority. Basically, the education of Yemeni children has been seriously damaged by the war.

2. The situation of the healthcare sector in Yemen

During the 8 years of Saudi Arabia’s asymmetric war against Yemen, Yemen’s health system has almost collapsed. The healthcare sector in Yemen is facing a severe crisis due to widespread conflicts, which has led to the spread of cholera and other diseases and the closing of clinics and health centers. Healthcare centers in Yemen suffer from a severe lack of medicine, equipment and human resources. “Arthur Bisigan”, the representative of the World Health Organization in Yemen, said, “Yemen, after about a decade of war and tension, is still facing one of the most severe crises in the world in terms of humanitarian and health conditions.

Only 51% of the medical centers in this country are fully operational. 36% of medical centers in Yemen operate in a limited way. “Natalia Kanim”, the executive director of the United Nations Population Fund, warned of a humanitarian disaster for Yemeni women and said that a Yemeni woman dies every two hours due to the lack of health and treatment facilities during pregnancy. 100 hospitals out of 268 covered by the United Nations Fund have been closed.

The human rights organization “Intsaf” affiliated with the National Salvation Government of Yemen based in Sana’a also in a report last June It stated that Yemeni women are living under the pressure of lack of health care, killing, displacement and violation of all their rights guaranteed by international laws and treaties. The report states that women in Yemen face one of the highest forms of violence, especially regarding the right to personal security and access to health care during pregnancy and childbirth, with the death rate among Yemeni women being one of the highest in the world. More than 50% of births are performed by non-specialists. Every two hours, a woman and 6 babies die due to complications during pregnancy or childbirth, and the number of women who may die during pregnancy or childbirth is estimated at 17,000 women.

Another point is that Yemeni children are the most victims of this dire situation, which in these few years Death, hunger, displacement, physical disabilities, health problems and diseases caused by lack of food or unhealthy nutrition, lack of health care system, unhealthy water and bad economic situation have been struggling. Yemeni children live in very difficult physical and mental conditions, lack of health, murder and displacement have imposed these conditions on them.

3. Reduction of international aid to Yemen

While the humanitarian situation in Yemen is fragile and the country is suffering from a humanitarian crisis, the health and Treatment is also dire, international aid to Yemen has decreased.

The United Nations has only been able to provide a quarter of the required aid to Yemen. The World Food Program has announced that it has reduced aid to Yemen. The reduction in WFP aid deprived half a million Yemeni families, most of whom are women and children, suffering from malnutrition. Meanwhile, in August, the United Nations stopped 95% of the special aid to clean up the remnants of the war against Yemen, which caused a halt to the clearing of mined areas in this country. Meanwhile, the explosives left over from the war are a serious daily threat to the lives of the soldiers.

Decreasing international aid to Yemen at the same time as the continuing deterioration of the humanitarian situation in this country proved once again that basically rights Mankind is not considered a priority issue for the world system. Human rights are influenced by the interests of Western powers. In this regard, Mohammad Ali al-Houthi, a member of the Supreme Political Council of Yemen, said: The decision to reduce international aid to Yemen was political and was made by the order of the American government.

This decision was taken in a situation where Yemen continues to suffer as a result of aggression and siege that lasted for 9 years. , suffered and struggles with economic problems. He also pointed out that the UN mechanism to deal with the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, which is the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, is ineffective.

Result

Yemen last year saw the continuation of the ceasefire and the cessation of the 8-year war, but the humanitarian situation in this country Especially in the areas under the control of the National Salvation government, it did not improve because, on the one hand, the blockade of Yemen did not end, and on the other hand, due to the pressure of the American government, international aid to Yemen decreased. Improving the humanitarian situation in Yemen will take years and even decades, of course, if the blockade ends and Yemen is able to use its oil revenues.