QRCS in Yemen medical outreach
Under its large-scale response to the humanitarian crisis in Al-Hudaydah, Yemen, Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) has breathed life into the collapsing health sector in Sanaa.
A new plan is in progress to provide primary healthcare for the population displaced from Al-Hudaydah due to the recent escalation of violence.
It is based on an appeal issued by the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to mobilise international humanitarian support for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Sanaa.
Several schools are being used as makeshift shelters to accommodate the increasing numbers of IDPs, who are experiencing an unbearable situation.
QRCS’ representative mission in Sanaa supplied $18,000 worth of medicines to cover the needs of 400 patients being treated at the Abo Bakr Al-Siddiq Health Center.
In co-ordination with the centre’s management, other shortages are expected to be subsequently met, in an attempt to stop the alarming deterioration in public health conditions as a result of the mass displacement.
The people of Al-Hudaydah are facing exacerbated living and health risks, with little food and rampant epidemics.
A medical worker at the Abo Bakr Al-Siddiq Health Center said they were doing their best to alleviate the suffering of the IDPs in the school’s packed classrooms. “The doctors and nurses are working 24/7 to take care of the patients. All of us are unpaid volunteers”, he added.
In addition, the school’s medical camp lacks medicines and other supplies, particularly those for chronic diseases like cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and hypertension.
There is a dire need to activate the referral system, by contracting a big hospital and medical lab to receive critical cases, particularly for infections and communicable diseases.