A major hospital in Yemen’s rebel-held capital is on the verge of shutting down due to a supply shortage caused by a pro-government coalition blockade, Save the Children said late on Sunday.
“Critical fuel shortages and a lack of medical supplies could force the al-Sabeen Hospital to shut its doors within 48 hours,” the organization said.
The hospital supported by Save the Children is the main facility for children and pregnant women in the area, and serves an estimated 3 million people, the organization said in a statement.
The Saudi-led coalition, which mounted an air campaign against Iran-backed rebels late March in support of exiled Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, has imposed a blockade on areas controlled by insurgents.
The hospital was reliant on the Red Sea port of Hodeida for 90 percent of its imports, the charity said.
“The hospital has entirely run out of IV fluid, anesthetic, blood transfusion tests, Valium to treat seizures and ready-prepared therapeutic food for severely malnourished children,” the statement said, citing hospital deputy manager Halel al-Bahri.
Fuel acquired from the black market was enough to run hospital generators for two days, he said.
Across Yemen, 15.2 million people are lacking access to basic healthcare, an increase of 40 percent since March, the group said.
More than half a million children are expected to suffer severe acute malnutrition this year, and there has been a 150 percent increase in hospital admissions for malnutrition since March, it said.
“It is crucial that enough medicines, supplies and fuel are able to get in to the country, otherwise the number of children dying from treatable illnesses is only going to get bigger,” Save the Children’s Yemen director Edward Santiago said.
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