It was approaching 10:30am in the dialysis centre of the Republican Hospital in Taiz when a machine began filtering excess fluids, toxins and salts from the blood of Omar Mukhtar Hammoud.
asserted
machine → approach → Hammoud
The 16-year-old suffers from kidney failure and is one of 270 patients who regularly receive dialysis at the centre in the government-held city in southwest Yemen.
asserted
who → suffer → Yemen
But with essential medical supplies and fuel running critically low under the renewed Houthi siege, doctors fear they may soon be unable to provide the treatment that keeps their patients alive.
uncertain
that → run → patients
Recommended Stories
list of 3 items- list 1 of 3European, Middle East ministers urge US-Iran diplomacy, not new attacks
- list 2 of 3US-Iran war, then and now: How the landscape has changed since February
- list 3 of 3Saudi Arabia security puts Asian Cup in doubt:
asserted
security → urge → doubt
Japan football chief
Dr Essam Mahyoub Dahan, the centre’s director, warned that a complete shutdown could happen within days.
uncertain
shutdown → warn → days
“Because of the siege and the shortage of diesel and medical solutions, we have recently been forced to reduce dialysis sessions from four hours to just two and a half,” Dahan told Al Jazeera.
asserted
Dahan → force → Jazeera
“We know this is not adequate, but we have no choice if we are to keep the centre operating for as long as possible before it shuts down completely.”
asserted
it → know → centre
Dahan said the centre’s remaining stocks of specialised dialysis solutions were also close to running out.
asserted
stocks → say → solutions
The supplies, which are expensive, are normally provided by the Yemeni Ministry of Health every three months.
asserted
which → provide → Health
But the latest delivery which was due earlier this month failed to arrive because of the Houthi siege on Taiz city.
asserted
which → fail → city
It began in the first week of October after Houthi advances in the Taiz countryside.
asserted
It → begin → countryside
Across Taiz governorate, where battles are raging between the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces and Iranian-allied Houthi fighters, the number of patients at risk is far greater.
asserted
number → rag → risk
In an October 12 statement, the governorate’s health office warned that the continued siege and obstruction of essential supplies could endanger the lives of 1,110 patients with kidney failure.
uncertain
siege → warn → failure
They depend on dialysis services in the governorate’s hospitals, which collectively provide about 210 dialysis sessions a day.
asserted
which → depend → sessions
International humanitarian and health organisations have issued similar warnings about the impact of the siege on the already fragile healthcare system in Taiz.
asserted
organisations → issue → Taiz
On Thursday, Amnesty International called on the Houthis to immediately reopen vital roads into and around the city, warning that the closure of the main road between Taiz and the southern port city of Aden threatened hundreds of thousands of civilians with losing access to food, water and healthcare.
asserted
closure → call → food
Fuel: A lifeline for hospitals
Taiz’s hospitals depend heavily on diesel-powered generators because much of the city’s electricity infrastructure was destroyed during the war that began 11 years ago and has not been restored.
asserted
that → depend → war
The renewed Houthi siege has severely disrupted the entry of fuel, including the diesel needed to run hospital generators and lifesaving medical equipment.
asserted
siege → renew → generators
Dr Shaheed al-Ameri, deputy director-general for technical affairs at the Republican Hospital, said the shortages have had a devastating impact on medical services.
asserted
shortages → say → services
“A very large part of this suffering is because of the shortage of diesel,” he told Al Jazeera.
asserted
he → tell → Jazeera
“We have no reserve diesel supplies.
asserted
We → have → supplies
Our stocks ran out early in the siege and we are now buying it on the black market almost every day, at prices that have reached five times what they were before the siege.”
asserted
they → run → siege
Al-Ameri warned that the longer the siege continues, the more prices will rise and the further medical services will deteriorate.
asserted
services → warn → ?
The hospital has already suspended operations in some departments, including essential units, he said.
asserted
he → suspend → units
“If this situation continues much longer, we fear we will reach a complete and comprehensive collapse of healthcare services,” he said.
asserted
he → continue → services
The shortages are not confined to the Republican Hospital.
asserted
shortages → confine → Hospital
On October 22, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that critical shortages of fuel, oxygen, medicines and medical supplies were threatening lifesaving healthcare throughout Taiz governorate, with some hospital services already disrupted.
asserted
services → warn → governorate
According to the WHO, 42 health facilities in Taiz city had reported severe shortages of essential supplies.
uncertain
facilities → accord → supplies
Hospitals and ambulances require at least 156,000 litres of fuel a month to continue functioning.
asserted
Hospitals → require → fuel
The organisation also warned that diesel shortages threaten to disrupt oxygen production, water pumping, vaccine refrigeration and sanitation services, increasing the risks of disease outbreaks, particularly among displaced families and other vulnerable groups.
asserted
shortages → warn → families
The United Nations has separately warned that the restrictions on supplies are bringing Taiz’s health system close to collapse and urged the Houthis to allow humanitarian assistance and essential goods to enter without obstruction.
asserted
assistance → warn → obstruction
Oxygen shortages deepen crisis
asserted
shortages → deepen → crisis
In its October 12 statement, Taiz’s health office warned that continued restrictions on fuel deliveries could lead to the shutdown of medical oxygen production plants, further endangering patients.
uncertain
restrictions → warn → patients
Taysir al-Samei, the health office’s media officer, said that would dramatically worsen the crisis.
asserted
that → say → crisis
“Many medical departments depend on oxygen, particularly operating theatres, inpatient wards, intensive care units and incubators for premature babies,” al-Samei said.
asserted
Samei → depend → babies
“Most hospitals have already suspended services in some units because of the shortage of diesel and the lack of necessary medical solutions, as well as shortages of medical staff who are struggling to get to work because of the lack of transport,” he added.
asserted
he → suspend → transport
He warned that if conditions continued to deteriorate at the same pace, some hospitals could stop providing services in the coming days.
uncertain
hospitals → warn → days
At the Republican Hospital, al-Ameri said that shortages were also affecting diagnostics and treatment.
asserted
shortages → say → diagnostics
The availability of laboratory reagents had fallen to just 10 to 15 percent of previous levels, he said, while approximately half of the medicines normally available were now out of stock.
asserted
half → fall → stock
Prices for the remaining medicines had doubled, he said, placing them further out of reach for patients already struggling with Yemen’s worsening economic crisis.
asserted
he → remain → crisis
…and 8 more, not listed.
The Aporia
