The Untold Pain of Cardiovascular/Cancer Patients in Yemen

YemenExtra

M.A.

The Republican Educational Hospital in Sana’a called on international and local organizations and businessmen to speed up the intervention in order to provide the renal center with renal dialysis machines and to repair the devices for kidney failure patients.

The head of the Republican Hospital for Technical and Clinical Affairs, Dr. Obaid Al-Adimi, told Saba news agency that 20 patients are threatened with death due to the obstruction of two dialysis machines out of 18 machines in total. He added that the kidney center receives 80-90 daily renal failure patients.

He pointed out that the failure of the two devices comes at a time when the dialysis center in the hospital is facing technical and financial difficulties, lack of medical solutions and medicines associated with the dialysis process, an increase in the number of patients with kidney failure recently and the many displaced patients coming from other provinces.

He said, “While we were waiting to supply the renal center with new devices, we were surprised by the failure of other devices that are now out of service.”

The pain does not end with kidney failure patients, heart and cancer patients in Yemen suffer from critical health conditions due to lack of medical supplies and medicines. The Yemeni Ministry of Health announced that more than sixty thousand heart patients are threatened with death, at a time when the Saudi-led coalition damaged most medical devices related to heart patients and cancer.

Cardiac patients are not only suffering from the obstruction of cardiac catheterization or the end of its life span, but they are also struggling with the shortage of prosthetic valves needed by patients. According to the Yemeni Ministry of Health, there are more than sixty thousand heart patients who are threatened with death due to the suspension of these supplies from the central pharmacies. Such supplies are no longer available because of the imposed siege by the Saudi-led coalition after they were previously granted to patients for free.

“The patient is extremely suffering due to the aggression, as most medical supplies do not make it in easily because of the siege and aggression on Yemen,” said Dr. Nabila al-Maqtari, head of the Center for Cardiology at Al-Thawra Hospital.

Due to the economic conditions experienced by Yemenis and the absence of humanitarian aid provided by the organizations, patients here cannot provide these supplies from private pharmacies, except for a small percentage of people, due to the high cost. The price of one artificial heart valve is more than one thousand dollars.

Cancer patients do not have it any better as more than one hundred thousand cancer patients during the last four years suffered from a critical health condition due to the absence of a radiological device to perform the task of diagnosis of patients in areas targeted by the aggression with radioactive bombs, not to mention the high price of medicines as a result of the blockade.

The Yemeni Ministry of Health has revealed in its report that ninety-seven percent of the equipment and medical devices went out of service after they exceeded the life span and can not be repaired nor are new ones allowed entry as a result of the blockade. Moreover, 60 percent of the health facilities stopped functioning because of the siege while another 60 percent have been shut down due to the direct/indirect attacks conducted by the Saudi-led coalition.

To conclude, a critical condition is experienced by patients in hospitals due to the lack of medicines and medical supplies. A factor that has further deteriorated the condition is the enforced closure of Sana’a International Airport by the Saudi-led coalition in the face of tens of thousands of incurable diseases. However, such a painful catastrophe is only receiving international silence and apathy.