MOH Warns of Yemen’s Upcoming Catastrophe Due to Blockade on Oil Tankers

YemenExtra

The Yemeni Ministry of Health has warned of a major humanitarian tragedy that is about to happen within the upcoming few days if the Saudi blockade against oil tankers continues, revealing expected statistics and information about the approaching catastrophic crisis.

“We in the Ministry of Health warn of a major tragedy that will soon take place if the situation continues as it is for a few days to come and the United Nations and the international community have not reacted upon this matter and carry out its humanitarian responsibilities.,” the Ministry of Health warned in a statement published yesterday, Sunday.

The statement stressed that the seizure of oil derivative ships has already affected the health sector greatly, and warns of a more severe humanitarian catastrophe than ever before.

Moreover, the statement of Yemen’s Ministry of Health held the United Nations and the state leaders participating in the Saudi aggression the full humanitarian responsibility for all the consequences resulting from preventing the entry of petroleum tankers. The statement appealed to the United Nations, the international community, Islamic countries and all of the world’s free people to do whatever is possible to end the siege and enable the oil ships to reach the port of Hodeidah.

In its statement, the Ministry of Health revealed the dangerous catastrophic expectations that will occur within the first hours of consuming all of is left of oil inside the country, which is indicated as follows:

1_ Around 150 hospitals, government agencies, and 163 private hospitals will cease operating (partially or completely) and may turn into first aid centers.

2_ About 5,000 government and private centers and dispensaries in all regions of Yemen will be closed, depriving more than 25 million citizens of medical services.

3_ The epidemiological situation will increase because the process of surveillance, control and treatment depend largely on oil derivatives.

4_ It will lead to the closure of the oxygen filling stations, and this means that all care departments in all of the Republic’s hospitals will stop, which will threaten the lives of all those who need them, especially those with the coronavirus disease (COVID 19).

5_ The Surgery and nurseries departments are threatened with closure, which threatens the lives of newborns, as well as operations on accidents and emergencies, injuries, and others.

6_ The transportation process for patients via ambulances will be affected by either delay or complete inability, and this means anticipating the death of those in their homes or in the place they were injured.

7_ The storage process of medicines and solutions will be affected, which means the lack of medicines and solutions that require cold storage temperature.

8_ The Stop of diagnostic laboratories and government and private scans, which means that the proper diagnosis process will be affected for patients; thus, leading to serious complications.

9_ Blood transfusion centers and research may be closed, and safe blood and blood products will not be available for thalassemia patients, injured people, burns, liver disease, operations, and others.

10_ The death of a thousand patients in care rooms or in nurseries.

11_ The termination of oil derivatives will threaten the lives of more than 3,500 patients with dialysis within a week, and the same applies to the rest of people with chronic diseases.

12_ One of the biggest dilemmas and tragedies that will happen, and has already occurred partially, is the inability of citizens in villages to drive to hospitals in cities due to the stop of means of transportation or the huge costs they will need to pay. This remark will impact Yemenis the most, especially because most of the Yemeni people live in the countryside.