Hospital in Yemen’s Taiz warns of collapse in days because of Houthi siege
Dialysis patients face shorter treatment sessions as severe shortages of fuel, medicines, and oxygen threaten hospitals.
Taiz, Yemen – It was approaching 10:30am in the dialysis centre of the Republican Hospital in Taiz when a machine began filtering excess fluids, toxins and salts from the blood of Omar Mukhtar Hammoud.
The 16-year-old suffers from kidney failure and is one of 270 patients who regularly receive dialysis at the centre in the government-held city in southwest Yemen. But with essential medical supplies and fuel running critically low under the renewed Houthi siege, doctors fear they may soon be unable to provide the treatment that keeps their patients alive.
Dr Essam Mahyoub Dahan, the centre’s director, warned that a complete shutdown could happen within days.
The hospital has already suspended operations in some departments, including essential units, he said.