Civil Society: “Everyday Things Are Getting Worse” for Children in Yemen

Water delivery in Yemen. Credit: UN photoBy Tharanga YakupitiyageUNITED NATIONS, Apr 20 2017 (IPS)Persistent attacks on health care in Yemen is severely impacting children’s well-being, civil society detailed at the launch of a report. In the report, Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict, in collaboration with Save the Children, found a series of systematic attacks on medical facilities and personnel and families’ restricted access to health care across three of the most insecure governorates in the Middle Eastern nation.According to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), warring parties carried out at least 160 attacks against medical facilities and personnel between March 2015 and March 2017 through intimidation, air strikes, and impeded access to medical supplies.In one incident, anti-Houthi forces raided and shutdown Al Thawra hospital for reportedly treating several injured Houthi-fighers. The hospital had also previously been shelled on numerous occasions.In Saada, a missile struck the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)-supported Shiara Hospital which killed six and wounded ten. The hospital served an area of approximately 120,000 people and was established as a de facto emergency room to provide access to health care for patients that would otherwise need to travel four to five hours along insecure roads to receive. A few days later, the same hospital sustained another rocket attack by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition.Many are now afraid because of the...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: Global & Universal Authors: Tags: Aid Crime & Justice Gender Headlines Health Human Rights Humanitarian Emergencies Middle East & North Africa Women's Health Source Type: news