Minister of Health: 1000 Children Die Each Day Due to Aggression, International Organizations Breach their Obligations
YemenExtra
M.A.
The health sector in Yemen is one of the civil sectors most affected by the US-Saudi aggression and the blockade, Minister of Public Health and Population Dr. Taha Al-Mutawakkil emphasized, revealing that international organizations violated the agreements signed with the Ministry.
Minister of Health made his remarks during a press conference held Wednesday in the capital Sana’a, saying, “We are facing a massacre carried out by the aggression against the Yemeni children, where at least 1,000 children die every day.”
He explained that there are 6 thousand women who die as a result of complications of pregnancy and childbirth, saying that there is genocide for an entire generation by the aggression, as the health facilities were subjected to direct airstrikes.
Al-Mutawakkil called for the opening of Sana’a International Airport to alleviate the impact of the health and humanitarian catastrophe
He indicated that 93% of the medical equipment and supplies were out of service or exceeding their service life.
He pointed out that the Ministry of Health provided its needs to the organizations in terms of equipment, medicines and medical personnel at the beginning of 2019 and the organizations were informed of the scale of the disaster.
“The information was shared between the ministry and organizations for the catastrophic health situation, unfortunately only 19% were covered.”
The minister affirmed the lack of cardiac catheterization devices, leading patients to death, while that the United Nations is reluctant to provide one device and aggression forces prevent traders from importing it.
“We need $ 500 million in the curative medicine sector and $ 400 million in the primary health care sector,” Al-Mutawakkil said.
International Organizations Breached Agreements Signed with the Ministry
In other regards in his speech, Al-Mutawakkil affirmed that international organizations have breached the agreements signed with the Ministry of Health and worked outside the vision of the ministry.
He pointed out that the Ministry has refused any work of the international organizations outside the supervision of the ministry, warning of any steps that affect the role of the Ministry of Health and the country’s sovereignty.
The Minister of Health presented during the press conference a sample of an insulin shipment that arrived at Sana’a airport, which represented a danger to diabetics and was returned.
He stressed that the ministry does not have the ability to confirm the correctness of the numbers included in aid bills purchased from abroad by organizations, pointing to the provision of customs exemptions for all aid shipments to the health sector
He called on organizations to work with the vision of the ministry stemming from the actual needs of the Yemeni people.
Operating Expenses of Aid Mechanism for Health Sector are the Highest
The Minister of Health revealed that operating expenses within the aid mechanism provided to the health sector recorded the highest percentage and exceeded more than half of the total cost during 2019.
He emphasized that international organizations transfer 60% of international assistance for the health sector in Yemen to operating expenses.
“Organizations respond to the health sector’s need for equipment is only 4%,” Al-Mutawakkil said, noting that there are medical devices provided by organizations that do not operate, do not conform to technical specifications or are consumed.
He also revealed that in-kind assistance in the amount of $ 99 million was of shipments that were expired, close to the expiry date or out of the need.
He indicated that the international organizations provided us with only $ 2 million to operate the ambulance system, while our actual needs amounted to $ 27 million.
Almasirah English