press conference: the impact of US-Saudi siege and aggression on liver and digestion patients

The head of the Republican Hospital in the capital Sana’a, Dr. Mohammed Taher Jahaf, confirmed that 2.5 million people with liver diseases and liver failure need treatment.

He pointed out, in a press conference held today, Sunday, at the Authority’s Liver and Digestive Diseases Center, organized by the Ministry of Public Health and Population, about the effects of the aggression and the blockade and its repercussions on patients with the liver and digestive system, that 12,000 patients require a liver transplant, pointing to the patients’ suffering and their needs for the necessary life-saving medicines.

Dr. Jahaf touched on the efforts made by the Ministry of Health to alleviate the suffering of patients through the implementation of the first phase of the liver center in the authority, which is considered a main step in light of the continued siege and aggression, and the only solution left in this current situation.

He said, “We are still in the process of being established, and the center needs everyone’s concerted efforts to advance it in order to alleviate the suffering of patients in need of liver transplantation.”

For his part, the director of the Center for Liver and Digestive Diseases, Dr. Mohammed al-Haimi, confirmed the impact of the aggression and blockade on the spread of liver and digestive diseases in Yemen, which rose by %30 during the US-backed Saudi war on Yemen.

He pointed out that the liver center received 600 cases during the past three months, while the estimated number of cases that require transplantation is more than 12,000. He added that studies showed that the percentage of patients infected with viral infections B and C reached %29, while schistosomiasis reached %18 percent, in addition to liver immunogenicity, which reached %12.

Dr. Al-Haimi touched on the high number of diseases of the digestive system, infections of the intestines, esophagus and biliary tract, and cancers of the esophagus, stomach, and colon, in addition to injuries resulting from shrapnel from bombs and missiles that were thrown into neighborhoods, resulting in injuries to the abdomen, liver, and intestines.

While the Director of the National Program for Combating Viral Hepatitis, Dr. Libya Mohammed, and the President of the Glow of Life Foundation, Ali Al-Dawh, reviewed the suffering of liver disease and their needs for diagnostic solutions and medicines.

A statement was issued by the conference, which was read by the official spokesman for the Ministry of Health, Dr. Anis Al-Asbahi, who confirmed that the liver center in the Republican Hospital Authority receives more than 200 patients with liver diseases a month.

He pointed out that the rate of increase in the number of people with various liver diseases under the siege and aggression is about 30%, compared to the situation before the aggression and the siege.

Moreover, he added that, because of the Saudi aggression and siege, the number of people in need of liver transplants in Yemen reached 12,000, and most of them live in difficult situation, so they are unable to travel abroad for treatment.

The statement stressed the importance of restoring direct shipping lines for medicines through Sana’a airport to provide basic medicines and vaccines related to liver and digestive diseases so that thousands of people with liver diseases can survive and prevent the deterioration of their health condition.

The statement pointed to the increase in cases of digestive diseases, intestinal infections, esophageal, stomach and colon cancer as a result of the effects of the blockade, as well as injuries resulting from shells and missiles used by the aggression on residential neighborhoods.

The statement also confirmed that the aggression coalition prevented the entry of many original medicines and medical supplies for diseases of the digestive system, liver and viral hepatitis, which caused many deaths and deterioration of thousands of cases.

The statement called to quickly open Sana’a airport to direct flights to India to save the lives of thousands of patients in need of liver transplantation, blaming the aggression coalition for more deaths among patients suffering from a liver or a digestive disease, as a result of their comprehensive siege on the country.

He called on international organizations to support liver patients with essential medicines, and to support the health sector to withstand the disastrous effects of the eight-year blockade.