WHAT IS HAPPENING IN YEMEN?
Yemen faced a huge humanitarian crisis as a result of the civil unrest in 2015. While about 24 million 100 thousand people are in need of humanitarian aid or protection, the Yemeni people struggle to survive due to food shortages and health problems. More than 20 million people are not able to reach safe and sufficient food. While in the region where 7 million 400 thousand people suffering from starvation, 4 million 400 thousand people are on the verge of death. Moreover, 360 thousand of this figure composes of the children under 5 year-old. The rate of children malnutrition in Yemen is one of the highest rates in the world.
In Yemen, with a population of 30 million 500 thousand people, while the number of people with acute malnutrition was 5 million 500 thousand in 2017, this rate has increased to 7 million people in 2018. 1 million 800 thousand of the number of people struggling with acute malnutrition comprises of the children under 5 year-old and 1 million 100 thousand of them comprises of pregnant/nursing mothers. Only 45% of the health facilities are able to provide services in Yemen. Since October 2016, 274 health facilities have either been damaged or destroyed. Approximately 14 million 800 thousand people cannot benefit from primary health services, and 8 million 800 thousand people live in areas where health services are not available.
WHAT DO WE DO?
As Yeryüzü Doktorları, we have provided volunteer health service many times in Yemen since 2015. We have examined thousands of patients, and provided free treatment and medication support. In addition to this, two different congresses were organized in the branches of Emergency Medicine and Surgery. After the crisis of Yemen in March 2015, we visited the province of Al-Hodeida within the scope of our nutrition health projects and distributed 2,800 boxes of baby food and 16,752 boxes of baby biscuits.
After the March 2015 crisis, we visited the city of Aden in August, which is in the south of the country, in order to determine the shortages and needs of the region in terms of humanitarian conditions in Yemen.
As a result of this need analysis, it was decided to carry out projects on nutrition health, and as of May 2016, four nutritional health centers were established in Al-Sheikh, Dar Sad, Al-Mulla and Al-Borika regions of Aden city.
We carried out nutritional health treatments in these centers, which lasted for 3-6 months on average, for mothers and children who are more disadvantaged against malnutrition. In addition to nutritional therapies, primary health care services were also provided and an average of 200 examinations were performed per day. Until the end of April in 2017, 17 thousand 198 mothers and children were examined, 5 thousand 296 mothers and children were provided nutrition treatment, and 7 thousand 777 expectant/nursing mothers were delivered primary health care services.
Since March 2018, our works have been proceeding in the nutrition health centers in regions of Al-Nasr and Foqum of Aden city and in regions of Old Fowa and Alber of Hadramut city. Within the scope of these projects, 5 thousand 214 examinations were conducted, 1,432 children under 5 year-old and 569 mothers were provided therapeutic nutrition treatment. *
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
With your donations, you can support our nutrition health centers in Yemen and contribute to the treatments of people struggling with starvation.
