Failing health system leaves millions of Yemenis disease-prone: WHO

February 26 | Yamanyoon

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned of a deepening health crisis in Yemen, which is under Saudi military aggression, saying lack of funds is putting millions of Yemenis at risk of disease and malnutrition.

Nevio Zagaria, WHO’s acting representative in Yemen, said in a statement on Thursday that nearly 15 million Yemenis lacked access to essential health services.

“With more than 14.8 million people lacking access to basic healthcare, the current lack of funds means the situation will get much worse,” media outlets quoted Zagaria as saying.

The WHO official said that about 4.5 million Yemenis, including 2 million children, need assistance in treating or preventing malnutrition, a 150-percent increase since late 2014.

“We urgently need resources to help support the health system as a whole, and are calling on donors to scale up their support before more innocent lives are lost unnecessarily,” Zagaria noted

The agency says only 45 percent of Yemen’s health facilities are fully functional and accessible.

According to WHO, highly-specialized medical staff have left the country, and the health workers that have remained have not received regular salaries since September.

Source | Websites