Some hospitals in Yemen to shut down due to lack of funding

Hospitals and medical centers in parts of Yemen are on the brink of closure due to a lack of funding, a government official told Xinhua on Wednesday.

“A number of public hospitals in southern regions and the beleaguered northern province of Marib may stop offering health care services during the upcoming days as they are facing complicated financial problems,” the local government source said on condition of anonymity.

He indicated that other public hospitals in the country’s northern provinces controlled by the Houthi militia are facing the same obstacles.

On Tuesday, the state-run Saba news agency said that the only public hospital offering care to mothers and children in Marib has warned it may shut down at the end of September due to lack of a budget, after the withdrawal of international organizations that used to provide salaries for 65 staff including doctors, technicians and nurses.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi militia seized control of several northern provinces and forced the Saudi-backed Yemeni government out of the capital Sanaa.

The war has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 4 million, and pushed the country to the brink of starvation.