Yemen's war robs many children of lifesaving heart surgery, doctors say
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[March 17, 2022]
SANAA (Reuters) - While waiting for
a sponsor to pay for congenital heart defect surgery, gangrene caused by
the untreated ailment ate away at 16-year-old Zamzam Hizam's foot.
She is among millions of Yemenis struggling to obtain lifesaving medical
treatment due to a seven-year-old war that has destroyed Yemen's health
system, hindered the entry of foreign surgeons, restricted travel abroad
by locals and spread poverty.
Mohammed al-Kebsi, head of the cardiac centre at al-Thawra Hospital in
the capital Sanaa, said the department has nearly 3,000 children
awaiting complex heart surgery.
"(Foreign) medical teams used to come and do about 100 cases a week ...
Now cases have accumulated due to the lack of medical teams and
sophisticated specialized medical materials," he said, adding that they
deal with the cases they can.
Luckily for Hizam, a sponsor came forward this week to cover the around
$2,000 for an artificial heart valve. Her father, who recycles plastic
bottles for cash, will have to pay him back.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Mar/17/images/ads/current/ldn_sda_062409.png)
Yemen's economy has collapsed in the war between a Saudi-led coalition
and the Houthi group that ousted the internationally recognised
government from Sanaa in late 2014.
A coalition blockade on Houthi-held areas has left Sanaa airport closed
to civilian flights for years.
War caused the Hizam family to flee their home in 2015 and uprooted them
again last year. After travelling to Sanaa for the medical treatment,
Hizam's father struggled to find shelter for his two other toddler
children.
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![](../images/031722pics/news_v14.jpg)
Ahmad Muslih al-Dalali wakes up his three-and-a-half-year-old son
Jabir, who suffers from a congenital heart defect, at the cardiac
center of Al-Thawra General Hospital in Sanaa, Yemen March 12, 2022.
Picture taken March 12, 2022. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Mar/17/images/ads/current/castlemanor_sda_FINANCIAL_2017.png) So they slept on the street outside
the hospital while his daughter waited for a sponsor - hoping
another blood clot would not cause further damage.
United Nations and other humanitarian agencies have supported parts
of Yemen's battered health system, but funding has fallen below
requirements in recent years.
A U.N.-led fundraising drive on Wednesday received only $1.3 billion
towards this year's $4.27 billion aid plan, with agencies warning
that food, health and sanitation projects will be further scaled
back.
On another hospital bed, three-and-a-half year-old Jabir's father
does not know how he will pay the $830 for surgery to implant a new
$1,400 pacemaker after the original broke.
"I have no money, I barely got the money to buy the device," he
said.
(Reporting by Yemen team, writing by Lisa Barrington, Editing by
William Maclean)
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