Saturday, August 8, 2020

Yemen's Multilayered War: The Failing Healthcare Infrastructure

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Anant Jani

Article Title

Yemen's Multilayered War: The Failing Healthcare Infrastructure

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Global Views 360

Publication Date

August 8, 2020

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Air strike Al-Thawra hospital, Hodeida on August 2, 2018

Air strike Al-Thawra hospital, Hodeida on August 2, 2018 | Photo credit: ABDO HYDER/AFP/Getty Images | Source: Felton Davis via Flickr

This is the 6th and last part of a short explainer article series on the current crisis in Yemen. To read the earlier parts of the series click on the link.

To read the 1st part of the series click on the link.

To read the 2nd part of the series click on the link.

To read the 3rd part of the series click on the link.

To read the 4th part of the series click on the link.

To read the 5th part of the series click on the link.

The civil war in Yemen, more so after 2015 has taken a toll on the civic infrastructure of the already fragile and poor country. Among these, the healthcare infrastructure of the country was one of the worst affected.

Apart from the physical damage to the hospitals and clinics due to the aerial bombings by the Saudi Arabia led coalition, the naval blockades exacerbated the dire situation. In June 2015 itself, aid agencies warned of the humanitarian risks brought by the US and UK-backed Saudi blockades.

The humanitarian situation aggravated further as there was a consistent famine since 2016 and Yemen was dependent on foreign aid for feeding almost 80% of its population.  According to UNICEF reports, over 3.3 million children and pregnant or lactating women suffer from acute malnutrition.

In 2017, the World Food Programme estimated that an additional 3.2 million people would be pushed into hunger. If left untreated, 150,000 malnourished children could die within the coming months.

Save the Children, the international charity and aid agency, estimated that 85,000 children under the age of five have starved to death in between 2015 to 2018.

Major healthcare operatives are dying due to the active bombing and conflict in Yemen, including personnel from MSF and United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHO).

The MSF (or Doctors Without Borders), who have been in Yemen since 2007, have reported that fears of stigmatization are causing people to stay away from hospitals, with misinformation and lack of medical services only compounding the healthcare issue during the pandemic.

As of 24th July, the country reports 1640 confirmed infections and 458 related deaths.  Al Jazeera reported that “Cemeteries in Aden are overflowing with graves, suggesting that the number of people killed by the new coronavirus is higher than the official count.” Yemen and its related aid agencies also suffer from lack of PPEs and adequate information about the pandemic.

As of April 2020, there are 800,000 internally displaced persons in just one province of Yemen Marib. The number of verified civilian deaths stands at 7,700.

The United Nations has been continually asking for donations, but has failed to collect as much as it requires. While it collected $4 billion last year, it has only received $700 million, halfway into 2020.

The UN urged for $2.4 billion this year to fight the humanitarian crises and the Coronavirus. As of 2nd June, 29 countries and the European Commission pledged a total of $1.35 billion to support humanitarian efforts in Yemen, just over half of the amount needed to sustain programs through the end of this year.

In April 2020, the Saudi deputy defence minister, Prince Khalid bin Salman, said Saudi Arabia “will contribute $500m to the UN humanitarian relief program for Yemen in 2020, and an additional $25m to help combat the pandemic. It is up to Houthis to put the health and safety of the Yemeni people above all else.”

There are 41 major UN programmes in Yemen, and it is estimated that more than 30 of them will close due to lack of funds. The UN stated, “Due to the COVID-19 suppression measures, all integrated outreach activities, which include the Expanded Programme on Immunization, Integrated Management of Childhood Illness, Maternal and Newborn Health,and nutrition activities, were suspended.”

Most of Yemen's 3,500 medical facilities have been damaged or destroyed in air strikes, and only half are thought to be fully functioning. Officials warn that monetary relief may not be enough to assist in the war against the pandemic alongside the Civil War. A solution to the war must be found soon, before the pandemic eviscerates more of the healthcare infrastructure.

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February 4, 2021 5:07 PM

Most infamous fugitive of Rwanda Genocide captured after 26 year run

After evading justice for almost 26 years, 84-year-old Felicien Kabuga, the infamous co-founder of the Radio Television Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM) and the most-wanted absconder of Rwanda genocide was arrested in Paris on May 16, 2020.

It was Kabuga’s radio station, Radio Rwanda that played the instrumental role in the horrendous events in Rwanda in 1994. The announcers of Radio Rwanda used inflammatory rhetoric against the Tutsi minority, calling them ‘cockroaches’ which had to be terminated so the Hutu majority would emerge as winners.

Over eight hundred thousand Tutsis and moderate Hutus were massacred in 100 days during the genocide in 1994. Kabuga was held accountable for financing militias and importing machetes which were used in killing.

Claver Irakoze, a survivor of the 1994 events, says, “We prayed to die softly and to go to heaven. People were negotiating over how they should be killed - that was the level of trauma”. Beatrice Uwera, another survivor, recalls that the soldiers went from house to house with lists of names of all the Tutsis and slaughtered people with weapons like machetes and guns.

Felicien Kabuga was implicated on multiple charges like genocide, complicity in genocide, direct and public incitement to commit genocide, attempt to commit genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, persecution and extermination.

His capture is not only an event of celebration amongst the people of Rwanda but also an indication of improving relations between France and Rwanda. “In the past two months, we came to a conclusion that he was most likely in France and in the region of Paris. We intensified cooperation with French authorities. They were very instrumental in locating the specific apartment where he was. So, cooperation with the police and prosecutor general office in Paris was excellent” says Serge Brammertz, the chief prosecutor of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT).  

Kabuka’s ability to evade law for so long also raises certain queries. For instance, how long was Kabuga residing in France before the officials finally gave him up? “It is difficult to believe that such a high-profile suspect, even with a new identity, could live openly without the French authorities knowing it” states Phil Clark, a professor of International Politics and scholar of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi at the London-based School of Oriental and African Studies.

One possible explanation is that Kabuga might have several contacts in Europe who helped him remain under the radar for so long. “It is clear that Kabuga could not have escaped international justice for so long without an extensive network of accomplices, which enabled him to enjoy facilitation from Government institutions in the several African and European countries” says Valentine Rugwabiza, Rwanda’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

As Kabuga is being put on trial (so far, he has denied all accusations against him), other complications pop up. International criminal trials and hearings take quite a lot of years, and whether Kabuga will remain alive till all the trials are complete, is still a doubt. Secondly, many questions hover around how the mechanism will judge the monetary parts of Kabuka’s involvement in the genocides.

At last the chief genocide suspect is detained and the Rwandan Government and people hope that the trial does not fall for procedural hurdles and proceed without any unnecessary delay.

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