ICRC: 75% of Yemenis have no access to healthcare

The International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) said yesterday that 75 per cent of Yemenis have no access to healthcare.

On Twitter, the ICRC wrote: “There are 27 million people living in Yemen. There are 20 million people in Yemen with no access to healthcare. That’s almost 75% of the population. That’s catastrophic.”

In another tweet, the ICRC wrote: “Almost 75% of people in Yemen have no access to healthcare. Nearly 50% of health facilities in Yemen no longer function. Less than 30% of the desperately needed medicines and medical supplies are entering Yemen.”

The healthcare sector in the country has been suffering deteriorating conditions due to the continuous conflict which started five years ago between the Houthi militias, backed by Iran, and the government-backed forces.

READ: The Saudi-UAE game in Yemen

Impoverished Yemen has remained in a state of civil war since 2014, when Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.

In 2015, Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a massive air campaign aimed at reversing Houthi military gains and shoring up Yemen’s embattled government.

According to UN officials, more than 90,000 people have been killed in the war, while more than 11 per cent of the country’s population has been displaced.