UN Warns Thousands of Pregnant Women Face Healthcare Shortages in Yemen
(MENAFN) More than 13,000 pregnant women in Yemen's Taiz region are unable to access essential healthcare as renewed fighting disrupts medical services, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) warned Tuesday, expressing concern that the city's main maternity hospital could be forced to shut down.
Francesco Galtieri, UNFPA's representative in Yemen, told reporters in Geneva through a video link from Aden that nearly 300,000 people have been displaced since August, with displacement from the western coast and Taiz increasing threefold.
Women and children account for more than half of those forced to flee their homes, while women are the primary heads of 33% of displaced households, he said.
Of the 27 hospitals designated to provide emergency maternal and newborn care, only five are still operating partially. As a result, more than 147,000 women and girls of reproductive age face severely limited access to essential, potentially lifesaving services.
The crisis also affects approximately 1,500 pregnant women expected to deliver within the next two weeks, Galtieri added.
At Taiz's principal maternity hospital, the number of daily deliveries has dropped from 10 to five. The number of functioning incubators has also declined from 40 to 10 due to fuel shortages.
Galtieri cautioned that the UNFPA-supported Swedish Motherhood and Childhood Hospital in Taiz could suspend operations within days unless restrictions on access are lifted.
Francesco Galtieri, UNFPA's representative in Yemen, told reporters in Geneva through a video link from Aden that nearly 300,000 people have been displaced since August, with displacement from the western coast and Taiz increasing threefold.
Women and children account for more than half of those forced to flee their homes, while women are the primary heads of 33% of displaced households, he said.
Of the 27 hospitals designated to provide emergency maternal and newborn care, only five are still operating partially. As a result, more than 147,000 women and girls of reproductive age face severely limited access to essential, potentially lifesaving services.
The crisis also affects approximately 1,500 pregnant women expected to deliver within the next two weeks, Galtieri added.
At Taiz's principal maternity hospital, the number of daily deliveries has dropped from 10 to five. The number of functioning incubators has also declined from 40 to 10 due to fuel shortages.
Galtieri cautioned that the UNFPA-supported Swedish Motherhood and Childhood Hospital in Taiz could suspend operations within days unless restrictions on access are lifted.
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