Yemeni Patients Must Trek Through Rough Roads to Reach Hospitals
(AWP) - Patients in Taiz must now take rough, pitted roads for several hours in order to arrive at hospitals for treatment, since many primary roads were sealed off by the Houthis years ago as part of a siege imposed on this southwestern province.
Local residents said the trip, which used to take about 20 minutes, now extends for up to seven hours of tiring travel through mountainous corridors.
“I have suffered from kidney failure for 15 years. I used to be able to travel from al-Salo to Taiz in two and a half hours. Now the distance takes up to five hours due to the siege on Taiz. We walk for long distances and we get very tired,” said Awad Abad Qaid, a Yemeni citizen from Taiz.
Youssef al-Zikri, Head of the hospital’s kidney dialysis department, said it took him five to ten minutes to reach the centre before the siege.
Speaking of the impact on his patients, he said: “now, the long distances add to their suffering. They arrive at the hospital near collapse, and some die on the way,” he said.
Ishraq al-Maqtari, Spokesperson for the National Commission to Investigate Alleged Violations of Human Rights, said: “Unfortunately, this violation has harmed the most vulnerable civilians – women, children and the sick, particularly those in need of urgent, continuous care. They include people with kidney failure and cancer, as well as patients with other types of chronic diseases.”