In Yemen, with the support of the European Union, INTERSOS provides an integrated services package for the most vulnerable Yemenis in Aden and Hajja governorates, both internally displaced people (IDPs) and host community as six years into the war has had its toll on all.
The nutrition situation in the country has become increasingly critical, especially for children and pregnant and lactating women. In April 2020, Mohammed, a severely malnourished child, arrived at the Qafl Shamer hospital in Hajja governorate, where INTERSOS provided him with free-of-charge health and nutrition care. He was so weak that at 3 months he weighed only 1.3 kilos and could not suckle normally from his mother’s breast. He was hospitalized for five days, and artificially fed until he was able to breastfeed on his own. Our staff advised and trained Mohammed’s mother on nursing. When, after three months, they returned for a checkup, Mohammed was grown up and perfectly healthy.
Unfortunately, there are many people in Yemen who do not have access to health facilities close to their homes and cannot afford the cost of transportation to reach the closest one. Like Jawad, a 5-year-old boy who was taken to the INTERSOS Mobile Clinic Team (MCT) in Aden governorate for a bad skin disease in July 2020. His mother had tried to cure him with traditional treatments, but his condition was getting worse. The doctor of INTERSOS Mobile Clinic, that roves around the large IDP sites in the governorate, immediately diagnosed him with pemphigus, a skin disease that spreads blisters all over the body, especially on the face, but which can be easily treated with the right medicines. This condition can be associated with the harsh living conditions (bad shelter, limited access to water and poor hygiene conditions). The week after, when he returned for a follow-up visit at the MCT, Jawad was fully recovered. “I want to thank INTERSOS’ medical team for coming to us in these difficult areas and who brought a smile back to my son’s face,” said his mother. “Without the funding for such intervention, there would be no health services in our areas.”
As part of the project funded by European Union, we have also taken care of women who survived gender-based violence. Dania is 60 years old and she was displaced from her village in by the fighting in Hajja. Since her displacement to a different district in the governorate, she has been living in very precarious conditions. For years, her husband had used violence on her. The repeated physical violence caused severe damage to Dania’s body, which is now completely paralyzed. Her husband and son abandoned her and disappeared. Her sister is the only one who takes care of her. Dania requires constant assistance as she cannot move and is completely dependent on the help of others. She is always lying on her back, with the consequence that her body was full of pressure sores. During their outreach activities in August 2020, INTERSOS protection team was informed of Dania’s situation and immediately visited her at her house and provide psychosocial counseling. Cash assistance was also granted to her sister so that she could afford to purchase a medical air mattress specially designed to prevent pressure sores, thus finally relieving Dania’s suffering.
And then there is Abia, a 20-year-old lady who turned to an INTERSOS lawyer because after a few months of marriage, as her life turned into a nightmare due to her husband’s mistreatment. Physical violence, emotional and psychological abuse: he denied her the most basic needs as well as the possibility to visit her parents. Two years after the birth of her first child, her husband kicked her out from their home, prevented her from seeing her son, and married another woman. Abia returned to her parents’ house without knowing what to do. She desperately wanted to see her son again. Abia received legal assistance and representation at the Hajja City court, where INTERSOS lawyer sued her husband to cover the costs of housing for Abia and the child, ensure alimony, and guarantee her custody of the child. On 19 August 2020, the court issued a judgement in full favor of Abia. “I am immensely grateful to the INTERSOS lawyer for his professionalism, he has changed my life,” said Abia.