The health unit in Al-Sitt camp in Marib. The only hope for displaced people

The war in Yemen, which has been going on for more than eight years, has exacerbated the humanitarian situation and the deterioration of the health sector, and left a great burden on public health centers in various regions of Yemen, especially areas hosting displaced people of various social groups.

Displaced people in Marib governorate live in a tragic and difficult situation and lack minimum health services as a result of this deterioration and the ongoing conflict in the country, especially in camps far from medical services.

The idea of obtaining medical services in Al-Sit camp (north of Marib city) has remained a dream for all families living in the camp, with the spread of infectious diseases and the spread of fevers among the displaced, for many reasons and repercussions.

“The war took everything from us, and diseases increased the suffering of my children,” says the young woman “Amina Mohammed”, a displaced woman from Al-Jawf Governorate, a widow and mother of three, “Amina” continues: “I arrived in this camp with my children about three years ago, and we did not even find a pill for treatment, and all health centers are far from this camp and we could not reach them, as a result of our lack of transportation and treatment costs.”

“Diseases have become killing us from all sides, and we were completely disappointed, until we learned about the arrival of the Relief and Construction Forum to establish a health center close to our tents in which we live, and the hope we were looking for throughout the years of displacement that we lived in the camp returned,” she added.

With the support of Care for Others and the Family Relief Association, the CRB built a fixed health center in Al-Sit camp (north of Marib city) to ensure that the most vulnerable social groups, including the displaced, have access to health services, through durable and sustainable solutions, and as a contribution from the forum to alleviate the burdens faced by the health sector and raise and improve access to health service in stable manner in displacement camps.

Since the opening of the health center in Al-Sitt camp in November 2022, the young woman “Amina” and the displaced families in the camp are now able to access health services with ease, and the center receives sick cases on a daily basis.

During the opening period of the center until the end of November 2023, the health center received more than 3,700 people, and received health care services at the center.

Abdullah Mohammed, a resident of the camp, said, “The situation experienced by families in the camp before the establishment of the health center is very difficult, and diseases were compounded and exacerbated, as a result of the distance of health centers from the camp, and the inability of some to afford the costs of travel and afford treatment, which exacerbates the humanitarian situation for them.”

“But today, after the construction of the health center, the situation has been made easier, it has brought us distances, and facilitated many of the challenges we used to face in the health aspect, especially in the winter season, when diseases abound and increase in frequency for children and the elderly.

The Relief and Construction Forum continues to support the supplies of the health center in Al-Sitt camp, north of Marib city, and to provide it with pharmaceutical requirements to ensure the continuation of services to the displaced, since its opening until now, and in continuous communication with donors to attract support to ensure the continuity of work in it.

In light of the situation experienced by families in IDP camps, the Construction Relief Forum and its partners are implementing many health programs in many areas of Yemen to ensure that the most affected social groups have access to health services, including projects to provide health centers with medical tools and supplies, operating clinics, and many services on the health side.