8,000 Malaria Cases in Yemen’s Hodeidah Monthly - Official
(AWP) - A local health official in Yemen’s Al-Hodeidah said that malaria cases were increasing in the province, adding that the health centers in the city have been registering at least 8,000 cases per month.
“In the liberated areas, the cases are growing in number day by day. The numbers are so high, up to nearly 8,000 cases per month,” said Aly Al-Ahdal, the director of a health center in Al-Hodeidah.
“There is a huge increase in malaria cases as a result of the epidemic situation and the deterioration of many of the health services, coupled with insufficient support for the health sector, particularly for malaria,” he added.
He attributed the increasing number of malaria cases in Al-Hodeidah to the area's many valleys, whose water sources have become sources of contagion.
Ahdal appealed to the authorities to remove the swamps and stagnant water that cause the spread of disease, in addition to implementing insect spraying campaigns to fight diseases and epidemic fevers.
A mother with a child who suffers from malaria said that her six-year-old son’s body was frail, and that he needed medication for malaria and for inflammation.
“I took him to the Healthy Nutrition Center, but I was told he did not need treatment, and that his body was frail. I haven’t received help from anyone,” she added.
“Each place I took him to, nothing changed. When I asked for treatment for malaria, I was told there was no treatment available. I am unable to afford the cost of transportation to Aden or Al-Mocha. Because of our poverty and displacement, I cannot take him anywhere,”she noted.
Sara Ahmed Aly Salim, who also has a child with malaria, said that she had come to the center the week before to get treatment for her daughter for fever and malaria, but that there were no available medications for either malady.
“I was given a prescription to buy medication from a private pharmacy, but we have no money. My daughter is suffering from fever and malaria, but I don’t have money. I can’t afford to buy medication,” she pointed out.
Umm Mohamed, another mother with a malarial child, complained of the crowding in health centres caused by the large number of malaria cases.
“You come with your sick child and wait in line for a long time, and in the end, you get to see a doctor who tells you that there is no medication. We have a hard time. We can’t afford the costs of medical treatment,” she said.
According to health facilities in Al-Hodeidah province, the number of registered malaria cases hit more than 50,000 last year.