Closure of Sana’a Airport Causes Death of the Conjoined Twins

SH.A.

The two children, Abdul Rahim and Abdul Khaliq, who were born conjoined last Thursday, were dead on Saturday, according to the Yemeni Ministry of Public Health and Population.

“The Ministry of Public Health and population announces the death of the two children who were born conjoined on Saturday, 9 February 2019, because of the unjust blockade on our country by the states of the US-backed Saudi coalition aggression, the Ministry said in a statement.

The state of the coalition refused to open Sana’a airport to take them out for treatment abroad, despite calls and appeals by the Ministry and the doctors who treated conjoined twins, the statement added.

Regrettably, however, the United Nations and the international community have not heard the calls and appeals at the international level, the statement read.

This tragedy shows the whole world the health and human status of Yemen’s sons and children since 4 years of aggression and siege, where dozens of people die every day because of the closure of the airport.

The two conjoined children were deprived of the right to life, although there was great hope and chance that they would survive.

As we also hold the coalition countries responsible for their deaths, we hold the United Nations, which has not reacted humanely to its humanitarian responsibility, after the Minister of Health appealed to it and all organizations to quickly rescue them. From the moment they were born.

We also thank the Resident representative of the World Health Organization (WHO), who expressed his willingness to do his duty towards the two children just hours before they died, but the death was faster than his move.

We, therefore, call on all organizations to increase the pace of response to all Yemen’s health and humanitarian issues in order to reduce the incidence of more deaths.

As well as Minister of Health, Dr. Taha Al-Mutawakil, had stressed that the Saudi-led coalition intransigence and refusal to open Sana’a International Airport, in front of the humanitarian flights, further worsen the suffering of the patients.

He added, “the condition of these children is a model of thousands of cases that can not be dealt with because of the low odds of success.”