Two options for patients: dying on their beds or on the way to Seiyun or Aden

There is nothing new in this regard except the waiting agonies of medical patients, some of whom have changed their flights to the graves after they lost hope to fly for medical care outside the country.

Thursday, February 27, 2020
Two options for patients: dying on their beds or on the way to Seiyun or Aden
مصغر صورة المطار

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Feb 27,2020

Ali Adhubaibi & Nazih AssonwiThe international humanitarian promises to reopen Sana’a International Airport have resulted in only more deaths.Besides, there is nothing new in this regard except the waiting agonies of medical patients, some of whom have changed their flights to the graves after they lost hope to fly for medical care outside the country.Some of these patients are still clinging to the hope of flying through Sana'a airport that has been closed for four years. However, the health status of some stranded patients is horrifically deteriorating.In November 2019, the Saudi/UAE-led coalition spokesman of announced the re-launch of humanitarian flights to airlift medical patients from and to Sana'a International Airport, and since then, only 24 patients were evacuated.One year and a half prior to that announcement, there was a previous promise by Abdulmalik Almekhlafi, the former foreign minister in the internationally recognized government of the President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, which was not fulfilled.During the period between the two promises in 2018 and 2019, many of those registered in the medical records for treatment outside Yemen died.Last October, one patient who has medical reports eligible for treatment abroad was informed to come to Sana'a so that they are airlifted by the World Health Organization to Cairo in batches. Accordingly, 33 patients and 33 of their companions had already arrived to the airport as a first batch. Yet, the plane changed its route before landing in Sana’a Airport.Thus, the feet of these patients stumbled at the gate of Sana’a International Airport and returned to one of the capital Sana’a’s hotels with hopes and reassurances, waiting for their flight from day to another until the moment. According to the head of the High Medical Committee in Sana'a, Dr. Mutahar Al-Darwish, the number of cases registered in the medical committee's records reached 3,000 cases of those who do not have opportunities to be treated in-country due to their difficult health conditions and poor resources. He said that there are 30,000 cases with incurable diseases registered at the health centers and hospitals need treatment abroad. .Dr. Al-Darwish stated that, unfortunately, many of the registered cases died.He added: "The World Health Organization asked us to review the files of the cases accepted by the out-country hospitals, 600 cases, to know the developments of their diseases. When we reviewed the file, we found significant setbacks and deteriorations to these cases and we found 45 deaths in three months".The health deterioration is particularly severe in cases with tumors and liver and kidney failure. For example: "The registered patient with a tumor in a particular organ of their body has become now with a tumor spread in the whole body. And the registered patient with partial loss of kidney functions has become now with acute kidney failure."Only 10% left of Khalil’s kidney Khalil Hashid Ali Yahya Siylan (13 years old) is one of these patients who are waiting to travel abroad through the airlift announced by the coalition.Khalil suffers from kidney failure and is waiting for a plane so that he can fly abroad for a kidney transplant as his grandmother intends to donate to him one of her kidneys. Khalil was one of the patients who were to be airlifted in 2018 following the first promise of the coalition, but he returned from the airport disappointed. Now, only 10% of his kidney is functioning.Khalil explains his struggling with the illness and the suffering of his waiting for more than one year and a half to travel abroad: "We have been waiting for the flight of the airlift since 2018. I am sick and cannot travel from Aden or Seiyun. Once, we were brought back from the airport where we were actually inside the plane when the coalition refused to let the plane take off".Among the most suffering human groups are the patients with kidney failure due to many factors that have made this type of illness more complicated. Beside the shortage in the number of dialysis machines, the existing machines are worn out because of the over-usage. Importing such machines is not allowed nor is allowed to import the spare parts of the diagnostic devices.Dr. Ibrahim Abu Taleb, General Manager of the Medical Stockpile at the General Authority for Medicines, said "We need new devices, such as CT Scan, X-ray, and lab equipment. We need new kidney transplant devices as the available ones are not enough.”An arduous journey for a patient ends in deathThere is no alternative for these patients to travel abroad, other than Sana’a International Airport.Since the closure of Sana’a Airport, passengers have to first take road trips for long hours to arrive at Aden or Seiyun airports. Then, they take their flights to their destinations abroad.Given the hardship of traveling overland to the airport in Seiyun, for instance, and the extreme stress of the patient due to the nature and length of the road that travelers take today from Sana’a to Seiyun, it is 24-hour journey by bus from Sana’a to Seiyun. Travelers from Hudaydah (far west) or Saadah (far north) may take one day and a half or two days to reach Seiyun.It is a long road, most of which lack maintenance, and large parts of it are not asphalt. Along this road, which passes through five governorates (Sana'a, Dhamar, Al-Bayda, Marib, Hadhramaut), and interspersed with mountains, valleys, and deserts, there are approximately 30 security checkpoints from all warring sides, stopping passengers sequentially, and delaying them deliberately.Due to this tragic situation, doctors advise many cases not to travel by land to avoid severe complications to the patient's health, some of which may reach the point of death, during the road trip or before the flight departure.Yahya Abdullah Al-Sheikh (57 years) was suffering from liver failure. His son, Mohammed, said "My father's illness started in 2017. We presented him to more than one hospital and more than one doctor. With the passage of days, it was clear that his treatment in Yemen was impossible as confirmed by all doctors."As Sanaa airport is closed and there is no other mean to take him to another country for treatment, Muhammad decided to take his father overland to Seiyun airport to airlift him through a Yemen Airways commercial flight to Jordan for treatment. Despite the advice of doctors that the patient could not bear the hardships of the long road to Seiyun airport as traveling by land was dangerous to his health. However, Mohammed made his decision "I have to airlift my father whatever the results."The patient was laying in the intensive care room, inside one of the hospitals that incurred them a lot of money. One of the doctors told him that taking his father by car to Seiyun would be very dangerous as “one hour in the car equals one week without any medical care."Indeed, the patient was transported to Seiyun on a 24-hour arduous journey. Mohammed says “As soon as we got Seiyun, my father’s face looked different than the face left from Sana’a.”.. The color or his face changed. The road was very cruel with the patient, who entered in a coma after six days of waiting. One day before the scheduled flight by Yemen Airways, which had been postponed more than once, Yahya Abdullah al-Sheikh died.Thus, they returned him to Sana’a wrapped in shrouds.[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]