With the intensification of battles on the outskirts of Lahj Governorate, adjacent to Taiz Governorate, and the Houthis intensifying their targeting of residential communities in the Mudaraba District with missiles and drones, local authorities in Lahj are racing against time to provide shelter and urgent relief aid to the displaced, in light of the continuing waves of displacement from areas of confrontation.
Within the framework of the official and popular movement to provide for the needs of displaced families, the governorate sent an integrated relief convoy to the displaced in Wadi Shaabo in the Kharaz area, in the Al-Mudaraba and Ras Al-Ara districts, as part of ongoing efforts to support families fleeing the combat zones, and to alleviate their suffering as a result of the war launched by the Houthi group against the residents of the district, who have been targeted since the beginning of the recent escalation.
The convoy, which was funded by donors from the Yafa districts, is the fifth to arrive in the Mudaraba District to meet the urgent needs of displaced people fleeing the lines of contact. It includes various food supplies and dates, in addition to shelter supplies including tents, mattresses and blankets, as well as water tanks and integrated sanitary bags to provide primary health care supplies to affected families.
The convoy was accompanied to the region by the head of the Emergency Committee, Deputy Governor of Lahj Governorate, Ahmed Ibrahim, and committee member Saeb Shukri, Director General of the Office of Social Affairs and Labor, along with a number of activists and specialists. This participation comes within the framework of efforts aimed at following up on the conditions of the displaced on the ground, and identifying their needs in the areas that receive families arriving from areas of confrontation.
Those in charge of the convoy confirmed that this step aims to stand by the displaced people in Wadi Shaabo and alleviate their humanitarian suffering resulting from the war conditions and the consequences of the Houthi practices, which doubled the living burdens on families as a result of forced displacement, and forced them to leave their homes and sources of livelihood in search of safer areas.
The convoy came in response to the urgent distress call sent by the displaced people in the district, and it also reflects the bonds of social and humanitarian solidarity among the people of the governorate in the face of the exceptional circumstances imposed by the war. These initiatives, in light of increasing needs, highlight the role of community contributions in providing some of the necessary assistance to families who were forced to leave their areas.
In Tuban District, the Emergency Committee, represented by the head of the Executive Unit for Displaced Persons, Omar Al-Samati, began distributing relief aid to 300 newly displaced families who arrived in the district, in a step aimed at meeting some of the basic needs of newly arrived families and helping them cope with the living burdens resulting from displacement.
These measures come within the “second phase” of the “Emergency Relief Project for Displaced Persons’ Camps” in Lahj Governorate, which is implemented by the “Sonaa Al-Khair Foundation for Development,” with funding from the “International Endowment of Endowments,” under the slogan “Hope Reaches Those Who Need It,” as part of the movements aimed at delivering aid to families who need it.
In the same context, the “Executive Unit for Displaced Persons” carried out a field trip to the “Poultry” area. To examine the conditions of the newly arrived displaced people residing in Al-Ahwash, and to assess their necessary needs, in preparation for determining the required aspects of intervention, ensuring that aid reaches those who deserve it, and alleviating their humanitarian suffering during the coming hours.
The people of the region believe that the forced displacement of families from the areas of clashes and military confrontations with the Houthis represents an episode of sacrifice made by the tribes of the region, who continue to confront the Houthi expansion and stand in the face of the group's military build-up.
The Undersecretary of Lahj Governorate, Chairman of the Emergency Committee, Ahmed Ibrahim, confirmed that the humanitarian situation of the displaced families in the governorate is tragic, pointing out that the local authorities are facing an extremely difficult reality that, in many aspects, exceeds the capabilities available to them and to those working in the humanitarian field.
He explained that the confrontations and deteriorating security conditions in a number of seam areas, especially in the Al-Mudaraba and Ras Al-Ara districts, prompted many families to leave their homes in order to protect the lives of their members and children. The affected areas include Al-Aghra, Al-Mashawla, Al-Bukra, Al-Mujarah, Al-Shubaiqa, Al-Burhinah, and Al-Ka’la, in addition to other areas and tribes affected by the confrontations.
He said that some of these families arrived in areas in Lahj and Aden governorates “without having the minimum necessities of life, and did not know where they would spend the night or how to provide a meal for their children, while other families were forced to sleep on agricultural land and sit under trees, in light of the absence of appropriate shelter and the scarcity of food, water, and basic services.”
These conditions reveal the expansion of the challenges facing local authorities and relief agencies as displacement continues, and the need to strengthen the humanitarian response, commensurate with the escalating needs of families who lost their homes and sources of stability as a result of the confrontations.
The humanitarian and health repercussions of the Houthi siege imposed on the Yemeni city of Taiz are expanding, with increasing fears of the disruption of hospital services and the shortage of fuel, oxygen, and medicines, at a time when the Siege Affairs Office in the governorate announced the killing and injury of 237 civilians as a result of Houthi violations during the period from August 1 to October 22 of the current year.
The office said, in official statistics, that the violations resulted in the death of 64 civilians and the injury of 173 others, while local health data indicate that the supply crisis threatens the continued operation of hospitals and specialized facilities, and increases pressure on a health sector that suffers from a shortage of basic supplies and difficulties in delivering supplies.
These indicators coincide with international warnings of the widespread disruption of health services in the governorate, in light of the continued restrictions on supply routes and the worsening humanitarian needs of the population.
Data obtained by the Yemeni Awafi Foundation, which specializes in the health sector, reveals varying levels of operational threat at 12 hospitals and specialized facilities, which provide services that include emergency, surgery, maternity, childhood, oncology, heart disease, kidney dialysis, laboratory tests, and blood transfusion.
The data warns that the disruption of fuel or oxygen supplies, or the lack of medical supplies, may lead to the cessation of more than one service within a single facility, and increase pressure on facilities that are still able to operate.
The figures show that the daily fuel need for 13 health facilities and services amounts to 5,336 litres, compared to an available stock of 20,394 litres, which is only sufficient for about four days of consumption at the current rate.
Monthly needs reach 160,080 liters, rising to 480,240 liters for three months, reflecting the volume of supplies needed to ensure the continued operation of generators, medical equipment, emergency services, and ambulances.
The importance of fuel is not limited to providing electricity to hospitals, but also includes operating oxygen production plants and preserving medicines and vaccines that require appropriate storage conditions. Which makes any ongoing shortage an additional factor in threatening health services.
In another indication of the widening supply gap, the daily need for oxygen amounts to 328 cylinders, while the daily production capacity of the factories included in the data does not exceed 127 cylinders, with a deficit of up to 201 cylinders per day.
The list includes five factories or production lines, one of which is suspended, while other sources are operating at limited capacity compared to the need. This deficit increases concerns for services that depend on oxygen continuously, especially emergency departments, intensive care, surgical operations, and neonatal incubators.
The health needs monitored by the Awafi Foundation include 127 types of medicine and 38 types of medical supplies, covering emergency services, recovery, surgery, chronic diseases, and laboratory tests.
The list of medications includes antibiotics, anesthesia and resuscitation medications, painkillers, heart medications, and intravenous solutions, while supplies include blood bags, catheters, cannula, surgical sutures, bandages, gauze, gloves, syringes, and oxygen masks for newborns.
Data from the World Health Organization independently indicate that stocks of 115 out of 127 essential medicines in Taiz are not sufficient for more than a week. This list does not necessarily fully match the list of operational needs compiled by the local institution, but it reflects the extent of the pressures facing the provision of essential medicines.
The list of health facilities also includes 48 primary care centers and units classified as a medium threat level, amid fears of a decline in stocks of vaccines and essential medicines related to maternal and child health, which may limit immunization services, care for children and pregnant women, and early detection of diseases.
In a related context, the “Rasd for Rights and Liberties” organization warned in a statement of the dangers of the shortage of dialysis supplies and medical supplies to patients, noting that about 1,110 patients with kidney failure face these risks, with the need for about 120 dialysis sessions per day.
The organization added that 192 patients in intensive care units and 154 children in incubators are facing the repercussions of the lack of fuel and medical supplies, warning that the continuation of the crisis may threaten the services provided to these groups.
The organization said that 42 health facilities are facing a severe shortage of medical supplies and oxygen, and that the fuel crisis threatens to stop or reduce services in 12 hospitals and health centers.
Rasd also warned that water shortages and the accumulation of waste in streets and residential neighborhoods may create conditions for the spread of diseases, including dengue fever, malaria, and skin and respiratory diseases.
It also indicated that World Food Program aid was unable to reach about 600,000 people in the city, according to a statement issued by the program on October 14, among 800,000 people in Yemen who were affected by the interruption of humanitarian access.
The organization warns that the continued closure of supply routes exacerbates the shortage of food, medicine, fuel and water, and impedes patients’ access to treatment, at a time when the ability of health facilities to meet basic needs is declining.
