Ambulances are parked outside Doctors Without Borders' Mother and Child hospital in Houban, September 2021. Yemen, 2021 © Nuha Haider/MSF
In the past decade, Doctors Without Borders teams at the mother and child hospital in Taiz Houban have provided services to over:
200,000 children admitted to the emergency room
13,800 children and babies treated for malnutrition
10,000 surgical interventions
133,000 post-natal patients
1,081,000 patients treated
"After offering various medical services for over a million patients in our mother and child hospital in Taiz Houban over the past 10 years, we are handing over this facility to the Ministry of Health, fully staffed by well-trained professionals and equipped. At the same time, I find it very emotional to leave, after spending three years in this beautiful and challenging country with its incredible people", said Tila Muhammad, Doctors Without Borders country director, based in Sanaa.
Although the handover decision comes amid a challenging humanitarian landscape, including recent reductions in global aid, suspension of USAID funding and regional tensions – which have all further strained the health systems in Yemen - the handover was envisioned years ago. Namely, the transition itself started when Doctors Without Borders decided to work in co-management with the MoH.
Mental health counselor Amin Al-Badri plays with Malak, aged three, who is being treated for haemolysis at Doctors Without Borders' Mother and Child hospital in Houban. Amin provides psychosocial support to children and plays games with them to help relieve their pain and create a sense of happiness and security. Yemen, 2021 © Nuha Haider/MSF
When Doctors Without Borders started the intervention in Taiz Houban, in 2015, the area was identified as one of the most underserved in Taiz.
“Since the opening we have been providing essential healthcare, emergency services for children under five, comprehensive maternity care including C-sections, treatment for malnutrition and more. We have also responded to outbreaks, supported complicated pregnancies and offered lifesaving referrals, as well as trauma care due to the conflict. Over the years, the 168-bed hospital evolved into a full-scale general hospital offering critical care to the local population,” says Allan Silver Emuna, Doctors Without Borders Hospital Director.
The impact of Doctors Without Borders’ intervention in Taiz Houban over the past decade is significant: Doctors Without Borders treated some 185,000 children under five years old in our ambulances, while over 200,000 were admitted to the emergency room. Doctors Without Borders staff assisted 67,000 deliveries and offered post-natal care for 133,000 patients. We treated 13,846 children and babies for malnutrition, performed over 10,000 surgical interventions, while admitting 32,165 children to pediatric and neonatal wards. In total, over a million patients received treatment in Taiz Houban hospital over the past 10 years.
With a population of around 940,000 people in Taiz City and surrounding areas, patients often travelled long distances to reach the hospital as, for many of them, it was the only place they could access healthcare.
Health educator Kafaa Abdul Raqeeb talks to mothers in the inpatient therapeutic feeding center (ITFC) at MSF's Mother and Child hospital in Houban about complementary food to help prevent future malnutrition in their children. Yemen, 2021 © Nuha Haider/MSF
Abrar Mohammed, Doctors Without Borders health promotion supervisor, has worked in the hospital since the beginning. She explains the bond built between the community and Doctors Without Borders over the years: “Overall, the community has a great respect and appreciation towards the hospital, as it is the only facility providing free of charge services, related to mother and child health care, although, sometimes there is also frustration within the community, as it doesn't cover all the health needs of the local community. In private hospitals in Taiz Houban, a basic c-section can cost up to 1,000 USD, which is ten times the average monthly salary, if you have a job."
In addition to co-building the new hospital, Doctors Without Borders will support the authorities with incentives for the hospital staff, medicines and other relevant goods and supplies necessary for the normal operation of the Taiz Houban hospital for the next six months. This will ensure a proper handover and continuation of services for the local community.
Doctors Without Borders in Yemen
Doctors Without Borders is not leaving Yemen or its people. Doctors Without Borders remains present in the country and offers healthcare services to the people in ten out of 22 governorates.
Doctors Without Borders has been working in Yemen since 1986 and has maintained a continuous presence in the country since 2007. Years of conflict have decimated Yemen’s public infrastructure, while millions of people lack access to clean water, food and medical care. Doctors Without Borders’ work in Yemen and around the world is guided solely by medical needs and carried out without influence from political, religious, or economic agendas. This is made possible by our independent funding — over 95 per cent of which comes from private donors, allowing us to assess needs freely, access communities and directly deliver the assistance we provide.
