Strikes damage a key hospital serving hundreds of thousands of Yemenis

Sana’a – Preliminary reports indicate that a key hospital serving hundreds of thousands of Yemenis has been badly damaged by strikes which occurred on 6 November in Al Mukha, in Taizz Governorate on the western coast of Yemen.

The hospital, which is run by Doctors without Borders, has been forced to close, and a large warehouse of medical supplies has been destroyed. “Medical facilities are protected under international humanitarian law,” said Ms. Lise Grande, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen.

“Hundreds of thousands of people along the western coast who need emergency assistance, including hundreds who need life-saving surgeries each month, won’t get the help they need because of these strikes.” “This is shocking and completely unacceptable,” said Ms. Grande.

The City of Al Mukha, located 180 kilometres south of Hodeida, is surrounded by northern and eastern frontlines. The hospital is the only facility providing emergency trauma, obstetric and surgical care to half a million people along the western coast.

Yemen is the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Nearly 80 per cent of the total population, 24.1 million people, requires some form of humanitarian assistance and protection. Ten million people are a step away from famine and starvation and 7 million people are malnourished.

The 2019 Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan (YHRP) requires US$4.2 billion to assist more than 20 million Yemenis including 10 million people who rely entirely on humanitarian assistance to meet their basic needs every month. As of today, the YHRP is 71 per cent funded.