More than a hundred and seventy years after the first celebration of International Doctor’s Day, the Yemeni doctor has also had a day, which is decided to be the 25th of June. The celebration of the first day of the Yemeni doctor comes mixed with feelings of sadness and consolation experienced by more than seventy Yemeni homes, and behind them all The Yemenis, in sorrow for the doctors who died in the asymmetric battle they are fighting with the Coronavirus, are isolated from the means of protection, deprived of adequate support to face the epidemic.
A statement inaugurating the effectiveness of celebrating the Yemeni doctor’s day, issued by the Yemeni Doctors in Diaspora initiative, called for honoring the Yemeni doctors, and considering those who died among them while performing their duty towards the patient as a martyr and a duty, whose children receive all the care and benefits stipulated in the law.
Attacks and steadfastness
If the celebration of Doctor’s Day is a symbolic expression of gratitude for the role of doctors and their sacrifices in the service of society, the Yemeni doctor needs more than appreciation and gratitude, as doctors and nursing staff are still falling on the line facing the Corona virus, and some of them are attacked by elements Militias that control most of the Yemeni geography, and with all these circumstances, Yemeni doctors stand bravely in the face of the epidemic despite the weak capabilities and the scarcity of safety measures.
On the message to be delivered to the Yemenis through the “Doctors in Yemen Diaspora” initiative, member of the initiative, Adel bin Jabr, said that the initiative aims to extend aid and assistance to the Yemeni citizen as well as the Yemeni doctor to alleviate the suffering that Yemen is going through, whether from the Corona pandemic or the ongoing war.
Bin Jabr added, during his talk of the “Yemeni Evening” program on the “Balqis” channel yesterday evening, that the initiative is recent, generated from the womb of suffering for both the citizen and the Yemeni doctor, as it is an independent initiative that does not belong to any political party.
National wealth is wasted
Regarding the number of doctors who died in the face of Corona, Bin Jabr said that the numbers are very sad, given that the death rate reached more than eighty doctors and health personnel in Yemen.
Adding that Yemen’s loss of doctors amounted to more than any other country; This is due to the lack and scarcity of personal protection materials, such as gaskets, insulators, etc., despite the modest financial costs.
Bin Jabr praised the sacrifices made by the health personnel and their dedication to carrying out their mission and dealing with diseases in the absence of personal protection methods, despite what they suffer from problems and salary cuts, in addition to the campaigns of incitement and attacks that affected the medical staff and reducing their mission.
Considering the departure of the medical staff one by one due to simple needs that can be provided is a sad matter, pointing out that building a single doctor until you graduate costs an amount ranging between 100 thousand dollars to 400 thousand dollars, and therefore the departure of doctors is a great disaster that no one realizes. Because they represent a large national wealth, especially as Yemen desperately needs them, as it suffers from a lack of medical personnel compared to the number of the population.
On assessing the performance of international organizations and their handling of the Corona crisis in Yemen, Bin Jabr said that the problem is not in the organizations, but the problem in the lack of a safe passage for the arrival of aid and cadres, adding that the support of the organizations will be available whenever there is a guarantee from all the warring political parties in Yemen of non-interference In the work of medical committees, so that they exercise their work professionally and according to the needs of citizens, and not according to the mood of political and party blocs.
The role of official bodies and organizations
On the role of the competent authorities and organizations in supporting the health sector and doctors to confront Corona, a spokesperson for the Emergency Committee to Face Virus Covid-19 Ishraq Sibai said that recently, protective and occupational safety clothing was provided to doctors, especially those working in quarries and health homes, although they were lacking in The start of the epidemic.
Regarding the support provided by international organizations to confront Corona, Al-Sebaei explained that the support of medical supplies provided by international organizations represents “a very small percentage, where we suffer from the scarcity and lack of these supplies, especially artificial respirators.”
Al-Sibai called in the meantime for the organizations and the concerned authorities to speed up the provision of these medical supplies and safety clothes for the doctors, warning at the same time of the aggravation of the situation due to the lack of these requirements.
The head of the intensive care unit in the isolation center, Taiz Samer Al-Boudhaji, spoke about the difficulties encountered in establishing two isolation centers for Corona cases in the governorate.
He added that these difficulties were represented by the lack of medical staff, respirators and personal protection materials for the medical staff.
The Secretary General of the Emergency and Disaster Medicine Association Saber Al-Qahif said that at the beginning of the spread of the Corona virus, there were difficulties and confusion among the health staff as a result of the lack of protective tools for the medical staff.
Al-Qahif pointed out that a special isolation center for medical staff at Al-Thawra General Hospital in Sana’a was recently approved, with the support of the Qatar Red Crescent, which will be designated to receive cases of the medical sector from all governorates of the Republic.
