Yemen: WHO wants to raise 392 million dollars to support the health sector

Medical needs are dire in Yemen, especially since the outbreak of war .

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Sunday appealed for $392 million ahead of a UN-organized donors' conference in Geneva to avert the “potential collapse” of the health sector. the health of war-torn Yemen.

The impoverished country on the Arabian Peninsula is in the grip of one of the world's worst humanitarian tragedies after eight years of war between Houthi rebels backed by Iran and pro-government forces backed by Saudi Arabia. Nearly half of health facilities in Yemen are only partially functioning or completely out of service due to shortages of staff, funds, electricity, medicines, supplies and equipment, according to the report. x27;WHO.

Yemen needs urgent and strong support […] to avert the potential collapse of its health system, said the representative of this UN agency in Yemen, Adham Abdel Moneim Ismail.

New funding of $392 million is needed to ensure health facilities can continue to provide services to 12.9 million people, it said in a statement.

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According to him, 540,000 children under five suffer from severe malnutrition with a direct risk of death.

This appeal comes on the eve of #x27;a donor meeting hosted by the UN, Switzerland and Sweden.

The UN estimates that 21.6 million people – the two thirds of Yemen's population – need humanitarian assistance and protection services.

Houthi rebels seized the capital Sanaa in 2014, which has prompted a Saudi-led coalition to intervene the following year in support of the internationally recognized government.

Since then, the war has caused hundreds of ers of direct and indirect deaths and pushed the country to the brink of famine.