How did the Houthi-Muslim Brotherhood coalition systematically destroy the healthcare sector in Yemen?
The war waged by Houthi militias and their collaboration with the Muslim Brotherhood, working to prolong it for their dubious interests, has had a devastating cost on the healthcare sector, as revealed by a recent UN report, with over 63,000 cases recorded last year in 2023, spanning numerous epidemics and diseases.
The report attributes the resurgence and increase in cases of vaccine-preventable diseases to the decline in vaccination rates among children in Yemen.
UNICEF stated that the significant drop in childhood vaccination rates over the past two years has left millions of them without routine immunization, leading to the resurgence and rise of vaccine-preventable diseases and associated deaths among children.
It added that over 63,642 suspected cases of infection with vaccine-preventable diseases such as cholera, measles, diphtheria, and polio were reported in 2023.
Measles accounted for the majority of reported cases, with 53,000 suspected cases of the disease, including 2,347 confirmed cases nationwide in 2023, along with 1,978 suspected cases of diphtheria.
The report indicates that type 2 poliovirus continued to spread last year in 2023, with three additional confirmed cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 239 since the outbreak began in November 2021.
It also noted a significant increase in the spread of cholera cases since November last year, with 8,425 suspected cases reported in 2023.
This comes as UNICEF highlighted that the suspension of the comprehensive awareness program, including routine vaccination campaigns, in provinces under Houthi militia control poses a major challenge in responding to these epidemics.
Since the beginning of the current year, reports from the UN and local medical sources have revealed the spread of cholera, measles, and diphtheria outbreaks in most provinces, primarily in areas controlled by Houthi militias, due to their refusal to vaccinate in areas they control.
This harrowing cost borne by the population is the result of the destructive war waged by Houthi militias and their alliance with the Muslim Brotherhood, working to prolong it as much as possible, with both factions opting to sabotage institutions and service sectors, depriving populations of their most basic rights, including the right to healthcare.
