RIYADH: Clinics supported by Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center have provided medical services to a total of 530 patients in Yemen’s governorates of Hadramout and Hajjah in July alone, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Saturday.
In Hadramaut, the Prosthetics and Rehabilitation Center, located in the Seiyun district, served 308 people who have lost limbs, mostly from land mines and unexploded ordnances.
“The center measured, manufactured, fitted, delivered, and maintained artificial limbs and prosthetics for 67 patients. Additionally, 241 patients benefited from physiotherapy services, which included physiotherapy sessions and specialized consultations,” said the SPA report.
In Hajjah, up to 222 beneficiaries in Abs district sought care at the clinics. They included 30 individuals at the epidemic disease control clinic, 9 at the emergency clinic, 54 patients at the internal medicine clinic, 5 beneficiaries at the reproductive health clinic, and 2 individuals who visited the awareness and education clinic.
Additionally, 24 people received nursing services, waste disposal activities were conducted twice, and 2 beneficiaries were treated at the surgery and dressing clinic. The clinics also provided medications to 100 individuals, said the report.
In addition to providing humanitarian services in Yemen through KSrelief, Saudi Arabia supports several initiatives for its southern neighbor, including development projects through the Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen (SDRPY) and clearing of landmines through its Masam project.
According to a report last March by Save the Children, an international humanitarian organization, “one child has been killed or injured on average every three days for the past five years by landmines and other explosive devices” in Yemen’s war zones.
“Children in Yemen are at risk of encountering landmines and explosive remnants of war while engaging in everyday activities such as playing, collecting firewood and water, and tending to livestock and they may lack the experience to identify or avoid them,” the report said.
A report by the Yemen Landmine Monitor last year said the organization counted 426 people killed by mines, from mid-2019 up until August 2022. Of that number, more than 100 were children.
The monitor also listed at least 560 injured by land mines, among them 216 children and 48 women.
Monitors said Yemen’s countrysides had been littered with landmines and unexploded ordnance since 2014 when the Houthi militia seized power, prompting several Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia to organize a coalition to restore the UN-recognized government.