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Technophobe
Assistant Admin Joined: January 16 2014 Location: Scotland Status: Offline Points: 88450 |
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Posted: November 16 2019 at 5:58am |
With Collapse of Health System, Yemen Struggles to Contain Disease Outbreaks
By Lisa Schlein November 15, 2019 11:36 AM GENEVA - The World Health Organization warns disease outbreaks are flourishing in Yemen and many people are dying from a lack of health care and serious shortages in supplies and personnel. Yemen’s economy is in tatters and its health care system in a state of near total collapse after more than five years of conflict. The WHO says about half of Yemen’s health facilities are functioning but are suffering from serious shortages of medicine, equipment and staff. Consequently, it says health teams are unable to respond quickly to disease outbreaks and epidemics, which are thriving. For example, the WHO says a cholera outbreak in January is still ongoing and so far, has infected more than three-quarters of a million people and killed nearly 1,000. WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier says other diseases also are taking a heavy toll on the civilian population. He says about 1,600 people have contracted diphtheria and 95 have died. He says thousands of people are suffering from malaria and dengue, despite mass spray campaigns to kill disease-bearing mosquitoes. “Another challenge, of course, are the non-communicable diseases. An estimated 35,000 cancer patients amongst which 10% are children, and more than one million people who suffer from non-communicable diseases will no longer receive life-saving treatment. Also, a total of 7,000 renal patients were in need of weekly sessions in 2019,” he said. Lindmeier says the cost of dialysis sessions for one patient, for one year is an unaffordable $6,240. Another ever-present and growing danger in this conflict-ridden country is attacks on health facilities. The WHO says there have been 156 recorded attacks on hospitals and other care centers since 2015, further jeopardizing the ability of health care workers to respond to emergencies and treat the sick. The United Nations considers the situation in Yemen the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. It says nearly 80 percent of the population, more than 24 million people, need international assistance and protection. It further states that 10 million people require food aid to survive and that seven million are malnourished. Source: https://www.voanews.com/middle-east/collapse-health-system-yemen-struggles-contain-disease-outbreaks |
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jacksdad
Executive Admin Joined: September 08 2007 Location: San Diego Status: Offline Points: 47251 |
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This is a humanitarian crisis on an unprecedented scale - between the civil war raging there, and Saudi bombing them into the stone age, the death toll and suffering are staggering. Even water is scarce - Yemen is predicted to be the first country to run out of water. In places the water table has dropped to over 1000 feet. With everything that's hitting them from every side, from Saudi smart bombs to systematic and deliberate starvation, it's no wonder that disease outbreaks are practically going unchecked.
As of this time last year, 85,000 Yemeni children had been starved to death. Wonderful world we live in |
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"Buy it cheap. Stack it deep"
"Any community that fails to prepare, with the expectation that the federal government will come to the rescue, will be tragically wrong." Michael Leavitt, HHS Secretary. |
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EdwinSm,
Moderator Joined: April 03 2013 Status: Offline Points: 24065 |
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This is tragic,
Given how many years the warfare has been going on, and the bombing, and the blockades of food, etc, I am surprised at how in the initial years there were relatively few deaths - it does keep surprising me just what a hold on life is built into human existence. maybe the poor people in Yemen have reached the tipping point where the population is so worn down by hunger etc that they just cannot keep going. |
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