Houthis exploit corona to seize hospitals and intimidate doctors

Sherif Abdel Zahir

The Houthi militia in Yemen is continuing to take over government and private hospitals by means of threats, extortion and the imposition of royalties, increasing fears for the country’s medical sector with the spread of the novel corona virus around the world.

Yemeni medical sources said that the Houthi campaigns of extortion under the pretext of the corona virus have targeted all government hospitals, 40 private hospitals, 250 government and community health centers, and hundreds of pharmacies.

Doctors and health institution employees targeted by militia campaigns said that Houthi gunmen raided and closed some institutions in Sanaa on the pretext of their lack of commitment to the Houthi measures to confront corona.

The militia also imposed a complete blockade on hundreds of hospitals and pharmacies in order to obtain money through royalties ranging between 300,000 and 2 million rials, claiming that they are supporting community awareness and education to prevent the corona virus.

As a result of the continued targeting of vital sectors related to health and basic services, Sanaa residents condemned the return of the Houthis, believing that Yemeni patients are the “only victims.”

International reports indicate that about 22 million Yemenis, or more than two-thirds of the population, need urgent humanitarian and health assistance, as many of them are on the brink of starvation and facing a number of diseases and epidemics.

Despite the government’s announcement that the country was free of any corona infections, Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik stressed the need to take all necessary preventive measures to face this challenge and to ensure an effective response.

The Yemeni government announced Saturday, March 14 that it had taken a series of measures to prevent the outbreak of the corona virus, in coordination with the World Health Organization, the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center and other related organizations, to ensure the safety of arrivals at various ports.

The government has allocated 1 billion rials to support the medical sector to counter the corona virus, and it has also taken precautionary measures, including the suspension of flights to and from Yemeni airports.

During a meeting on Wednesday, April 1 with UN Humanitarian Coordinator Lise Grande, Houthi Prime Minister Abdel-Aziz Saleh bin Habtour called on the international community and humanitarian organizations to support Yemen’s health sector and its precautionary plans to counter the corona virus.