A helping hand to heroes
AlSadaqa Hospital, Aden
Al-Sadaqa hospital in Aden is a lifeline to families displaced by the conflict in Yemen. Despite ongoing challenges like the procurement of medicines and vital hospital supplies, and recent civil unrest, hero health workers show up everyday to keep babies alive.
Abdulkhaleq Abdullah is one such hero. He works as a physician’s assistant, providing health care for newborn babies at the hospital. “There are many displaced people from many governorates. Most of them from Hodeidah. They are in need of health care due to their poor living conditions, so we try to do our best to provide health care for mothers and babies here,” says Abdulkhaleq.
For vulnerable babies born to families who have been displaced by conflict, it is often a struggle to survive. Muna Mohammed, who is 28 years old, knows all too well these challenges. Having lost her first baby during childbirth and after fleeing from Ad Dali' to Aden, she was able to get lifesaving care for her twins.
"We were displaced from Ad Dali' governorate to Aden due to the conflict and destruction. I gave birth in the hospital here; they helped me a lot and provided health care for me and my twin babies,” Muna says.
“We are living in poor conditions, without help I could not afford the costs for my birth in a health facility. Now I found health care in the hospital and the staff are doing a lot for me and my babies. We thank UNICEF very much, and I hope that this hospital will be supported more,” Muna added.
Huda Mohammed Fadl, is another a health worker hero working as a nurse in the nursery at Al-Sadaqa. She says that; "war and conflict destroy buildings and health facilities and cause poverty and suffering for people and displaced people, so many displaced people, come here to receive health care. The hospital is providing better care, thanks to the support provided by UNICEF through medicines, the development of departments and the availability of medical supplies."
Other mothers, like Rana, agree. She would have been unable to get her child the care he needed to survive without the free services provided at Al-Sadaqa and the support of nurses like Huda. Rana fled Zabid in Hodeidah governorate, eventually arriving in Aden with her two babies. “For the first time I saw the war with my own eyes, the tent I lived in was destroyed in Hodeida when I was pregnant with my first child,” she remembers. “I came here to Al-Sadaqa to receive free health care for me and my child. We are displaced and cannot pay for health care,” she adds.
As part of its ongoing humanitarian response, UNICEF can keep hospitals like Al-Sadaqa running. Families, especially those displaced by conflict, are provided with transport support to reach the hospital where they can access free maternal, newborn and child health services. Mothers just like Muna and Rana are met with the support and care they so fundamentally deserve. We look forward to seeing their children grow.