Warnings of the collapse of the health and food systems in Yemen

Ahmed Shaaban (Cairo, Aden)

A new international report stated that 7 Yemeni governorates in the north of the country, under the control of the Houthi group, will face the worst cases of acute food insecurity and deteriorating health conditions in the next few months.
The US Agency for International Development stated in its latest report that the governorates of Amran, Hajjah, Hodeidah, Al-Jawf, Al-Mahwit, Saada, and the parts under the control of the Houthis in Taiz are expected to slide to the level of a health and food emergency, or worse, between February and May 2024, according to an analysis conducted by the Famine Early Warning System Network. .
Officials and experts in Yemen warned of the deteriorating health situation due to the war that has been going on for ten years, and the violations and crimes of the Houthi group that affected the Yemeni people, especially children, women, and health bodies.
The World Health Organization announced that Yemen is one of the 23 worst humanitarian and health emergencies in the world, noting that 17.8 million people need health support this year, while 2.4 million children under the age of five (about half of Yemen’s children) suffer from malnutrition, in addition to A quarter of the population needs mental health support. The Undersecretary of the Yemeni Ministry of Legal Affairs and Human Rights, Nabil Abdel Hafeez, believes that Yemen, due to the war and the continuous violations carried out by the Houthi group; It reached a state of significant deterioration in the health aspect, and more than half of the population became in poor health, especially children, as the number of displaced people reached 4.5 million people.
Abdul Hafeez explained, in a statement to Al-Ittihad, that health facilities in Yemen are poorly prepared and the pressure on needs is much greater than their capabilities, noting that most of the foreign aid goes to Houthi-controlled areas that store it, in addition to some Houthi fatwas that prohibit children’s vaccines.
For his part, Fahmi Al-Zubairi, Director of the Human Rights Office in the Sanaa Municipality, says that Yemen is experiencing the worst humanitarian crises in the world as a result of the war sparked by the Houthi group, and no city was spared its effects and its repercussions included all groups, which led to economic deterioration and the destruction of the health care system, And epidemics spread.
Al-Zubairi pointed out, in a statement to Al-Ittihad, that Yemenis suffer from high rates of hunger, acute malnutrition, poverty and unemployment. Which naturally leads to a worsening of the health and living situation, and the spread of infectious diseases, such as diphtheria, dengue fever, malaria, tetanus, tuberculosis, SARS, and pneumonia.
He pointed out that the health sector is witnessing a state of rapid collapse since the Houthis took control of the country, and more than half of the health facilities are out of service due to the violations that affected medical facilities, and the systematic targeting and destruction of the sector, which caused the spread of counterfeit and smuggled medicines and the lack of services.
Al-Zubairi explained that the health sector is still being subjected to violations, as a result of the Houthi abuses and abuses, which did not take into account the difficult living and economic conditions experienced by the Yemenis, in addition to the plundering of the salaries of employees in the health sector for ten years.
He stressed that there is an urgent need for emergency intervention to support the health system so that it recovers and is not exposed to a total collapse, coordination between the government and international organizations to protect health bodies, and pressure on the Houthis to stop targeting facilities and using them for military purposes, and protect Yemenis from diseases and epidemics that kill them.