Rajaa Ghirsan, a 50-year-old seamstress from the Houthi-controlled capital of Sanaa, can barely speak or breathe due to severe airway obstructions. Dependent on a neck-mounted device that must be replaced every two months at a cost of $100, she has already undergone six complex operations abroad since 2006. With Yemen’s conflict-ravaged healthcare system utterly lacking specialist care, she now requires another major procedure overseas to survive.

After registering with the Higher Medical Committee in Sanaa, Ghirsan spent seven years attempting to secure a seat on a weekly flight to Amman, Jordan. However, repeated closures and airstrikes rendered the route impassable, while overland travel to alternative hubs like Aden remains prohibitively expensive and dangerous. Anis al-Asbahi, a spokesperson for the Houthi-run Ministry of Health, purportedly stated that a decade of airport closures has severely impacted approximately 400,000 patients, including 250,000 requiring overseas medical intervention.

The humanitarian catastrophe has deepened as fighting recently reignited, causing transport paralysis and leaving critical patients trapped. Alternative airports in Aden and Seiyun have faced attacks and closures, forcing desperate families to navigate perilous journeys across numerous checkpoints. Numerous patients have reportedly died en route or while awaiting treatment, underscoring the profound human toll of the ongoing conflict.

Source: www.aljazeera.com