When Mohammad Al Obaidi, who was suffering from a severe heart attack, went to a hospital in the city of Marib (eastern Yemen), he was shocked by the news of the unavailability of a “cardiac catheterization device.” As a result, he was transferred to Sayoun in Hadramout Governorate, (446 kilometers from Marib).
Nonetheless, and due to the far distance between Marib and Sayoun in view of the cardiac patient deteriorating condition, it was not possible for him to travel to Hadramout, as his health condition worsened because of his suffering from heart disease so that he unfortunately passed away, according to the statement of the patient’s brother, (Abdullah) who told Khuyut.
Abdullah says: “My brother Mohammad suffered from a severe heart attack (angina pectoris), so we rushed him to the nearest hospital in the city of Marib. Unfortunately, we were surprised that the hospital lacked a heart catheterization device, despite the importance of this appliance, which is indispensable for dealing with such cases. Delay in emergency intervention to treat such cardia failure leads to worsening of the patient’s condition and may lead to his death." He told Khuyut.
According to medical reports, cardiovascular diseases result from narrowing, blockage, or hardening of the blood vessels, which results in the heart, brain, or other organs in the body not receiving a sufficient amount of blood. Symptoms include chest pain, shortness of breath, and weakness or coldness in the legs and arms.
“After we arrived at the hospital, the doctor told me that my brother needed an operation and surgical intervention as soon as possible, because in such cases, if there was no rapid surgical intervention within two hours, the patient’s condition might get worse, which is what happened with my brother Mohammad, who was not more than 40 years old.” Abdullah Al Obaidi added.
The World Health Organization data, which “Khuyut” investigated in a previous article about this issue, show that, 29 people out of every hundred, in the age group (60-64) years die from coronary heart disease, followed by the age group (55-59) and then the group (50-54) years which comes third, followed by the rest of the lower age groups, as fatalities are lower among the youngest.
In addition, the data analysis conducted by the article’s author for “Khuyut” reveals an upsurge in the number of deaths due to cardiac diseases in Yemen between the years 2010 and 2019, with an increase of about 25%. The year 2010 recorded 2,815 losses, while the year 2019 recorded 3,818 fatalities as a result of the cardiac diseases.
The deficiency of such vital devices has a major negative impact on the lives of heart patients, as there are many cases of angina pectoris that require cardiac catheterization, whether diagnostic or therapeutic, which has caused the loss of some of these cases. Currently, there are serious measures in place to establish a cardiac center which will be equipped with all necessary devices and apparatus.
In this context, on February 22, the local authority in Ma’rib Governorate took the initiative to announce the unilateral opening of the road linking Ma’rib to Sana’a through the Nihm road.
While many hope that the other party, represented by the Sana'a authority, will take a similar step to facilitate the movement of citizens, including heart patients in Marib. Actually, cardiac patients are forced to travel long distances, amounting to about 446 kilometers to reach Hadramout Governorate, while it is 173 kilometers away from Sana'a. Accordingly, the opening of the Marib - Sana'a road will play a major role in alleviating the suffering of many patients who cannot afford to travel long distances to reach Hadramout to receive treatment, especially for emergency cases for heart patients.
According to the governor of Ma’rib in the internationally recognized government, Sultan Al-Arada, it is important to open all blocked roads in all cities, including the roads leading to the city of Taiz, which has been besieged for nine years. Because it represents an urgent necessity today, especially in light of the great suffering of the Yemeni citizen in traveling through rugged alternative roads. Al-Arada confirmed the government's readiness to open the other blocked roads such as; (Marib - Al-Baydha - Sana'a), and the roads (Ma'rib - Sarwah - Sana'a) unilaterally, hoping that the other party would proactively respond to this initiative, which aims mainly to alleviate the suffering of citizens and facilitate their travel and movement.
Deterioration of the health sector
Mohammad is not the only one who lost his life as a result of the lack of a cardiac catheterization apparatus in health facilities in Marib Governorate. However, there are hundreds of cardiac patients who face severe misery as a result the shortage or lack of cardiac devices. There are many heart patients whose health condition has deteriorated due to the lack of equipment, which has led to their death in light of the difficulty of traveling to save the lives, in a timely manner, to the nearest city where one of the hospitals has a heart catheterization device. This is the case for the city of Sayoun in relation to Marib, given the deteriorating economic and living conditions, in addition to the rugged alternative roads. The Director General of the Health Office for Technical Affairs, Nasser Abdu Rabbo Al-Saeedi, confirmed in a statement to Khuyut that they do not have accurate statistics in the Ministry of Health and Population office regarding the number of heart patients, as they are being treated outside the governorate due to the lack of a specialized heart center for treating them in Marib.
Al-Saeedi also indicated that a number of solutions and proposals are being explored and researched to overcome this shortage in health catheterization tools, including studying the conclusion of an agreement between the “Kari General Hospital” in Marib and the Doctors Tower Hospital in Al-Mukalla in Hadramout, stipulating that the latter will supervise the establishment and equipping of a catheterization department in Marib.
According to reports by international organizations, Yemen needs significant support from international donors and other partners to avoid the likely actual collapse of its health system. The health sector in Yemen needs an urgent funding amounted at US$392 million, to ensure the continued operation of depleted health facilities and to provide basic services to 12.9 million people from the most vulnerable groups in the country.
Al-Saeedi added that the local authority in Marib is working hard to prevent the collapse of the health sector in the governorate, as it seeks to establish a special cardiac disease center within the Authority Hospital in the governorate.
People's lives are at risk
Marib, like other Yemeni cities and governorates, suffers from a major downfall in the health sector, with medical facilities lacking the necessary equipment that would enable them to treat such diseases related to blood vessels, as Yemen suffers from the highest rate of heart disease in the region.
For his part, the head of the Marib General Hospital Authority, Abdulaziz Al-Shaddadi, told Khuyut: “There are many important medical services that Marib Governorate lacks, for several reasons, including chronic ones, and new ones, as the health sector was completely neglected in Marib before 2014, Thus, only the “Marib Authority” government hospital was operating in the governorate.
Al-Shaddadi added that: “After the political situation stabilized in the governorate, some actions to support this sector began to appear, as there were a number of development measures for the Authority Hospital with the establishment of new surgical centers that keep pace with the requirements of the current stage, as Marib embraces a large number of displaced people due to the War and conflict in Yemen.
Moreover, he also pointed out that the difficult conditions that Marib Governorate has experienced over the past period are among the most significant reasons for the absence of such specialized health centers, such as the heart center, kidney center, oncology center, and other quality health centers that the governorate needs.
According to Al-Shaddadi, the cost of the catheter device amounts to half a million dollars, while the local authority, represented by the governor of the governorate, was directed to provide and purchase such a device, which the medical facilities in the governorate lack.
Additionally, he also confirmed that the absence of such devices has a major negative impact on the lives of patients, as many cases of angina pectoris have appeared that require cardiac catheterization, whether diagnostic or therapeutic, which has caused the loss of some of these cases, noting that there are serious measures to establish Heart center, equipped with the necessary devices and apparatus.
Remedies to alleviate people's suffering
Nearly nine years of conflict in Yemen have left more than two-thirds of Yemen's population (21.6 million people) in dire need of humanitarian assistance, and the number of internally displaced people is estimated at 4.5 million people. Conflict, deteriorating economic situation, increasing food insecurity, and frequent outbreaks of epidemics have led to the collapse of the country's health system. Currently, across Yemen, 46% of the total health facilities are partially functioning, or may be completely out of service, due to a lack of staff, financial resources, electricity, medicines, supplies, and equipment.
Dr. Abdul Bari Mohammad, pointed out in his interview with Khuyut that the absence of a cardiac catheterization device negatively affects those suffering from such life-threatening diseases, and that its absence is a major cause of death of the largest number of these cases.
In addition, Mohammad confirmed that there are currently no solutions that can be implemented to support these patients in Marib, and if there are some drugs, they are not sufficient or an alternative to the cardiac devices. He also stressed that providing a “catheter device” will alleviate much of the suffering of citizens and patients in all aspects, especially economically through saving the costs of travelling outside the governorate for the sake of treatment.
According to the World Health Organization, cardiovascular illnesses are the key cause of decease in the world, leading to the killing of about 17.9 million people every year. Cardiovascular diseases are a group of disorders that affect the heart and blood vessels, and include coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, rheumatic heart disease, and other diseases. More than four-fifths of cardiovascular disease deaths are due to heart attacks and strokes, and a third of these deaths occur prematurely in people under 70 years of age.
