WHO is partnering with the Government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to ensure that pregnant mothers and newborns keep receiving vital and often life-saving care.
The Al Mukalla Hospital is the only public hospital providing obstetrics, gynecology, newborn care services in the seaport city of Al Mukalla, Yemen’s sixth-largest city. Public access to essential health services in the city has been continuously impacted by surrounding conflict since 2015. Meanwhile, the yearly number of births at the Al Mukalla Hospital has averaged between 4,000 and 7,000 from 2019 to 2022. The hospital is also a referral and medical training facility for Yemen’s largest governorate, Hadramaut, and its four surrounding governorates of Shabwah, Al-Mahrah, Sayoun, and Socotra.
Ms. Faten Bamhaisoon has managed the Maternity Unit at the Al Mukalla Hospital for three years. "Here in Yemen, most people experience very difficult living conditions that can prevent them from accessing basic health services,” she said.
“Proven, high-impact interventions are available here, but many women, including those who deliver at home, do not see a skilled health worker before or after delivery. So we make sure they understand the importance of meeting their reproductive health needs – and the consequences of failing to do so.”
The leading causes of maternal and infant mortality in Yemen are multiple, interrelated, and almost always preventable – starting with complications of pregnancy and delivery that require urgent treatment, especially by specialized female healthcare workers. Because maternal health is closely linked to newborn survival, the services provided to mothers, infants, and children women at Al Mukalla Hospital are vital and often life-saving, especially for those requiring intensive care.
Ms. Bamhaisoon explained how the continuing support of WHO and the UAE is critical for the hospital’s provision of quality care to mothers and children. Past support has included electrical transformers that have reduced frequent power cuts from 10 minutes or longer in time to just five seconds on a consistent basis. Commercial-grade air conditioners and purifiers have also been installed to dramatically improve the working and care conditions of hospital staff and patients alike.
“For example, instead of having only four or five incubators for all babies, we now have 20, thanks to the support we have received from the WHO and the UAE,” said Dr. Bin Human. “And to be honest, we have relieved a significant burden on mothers and other patients, as their cases have increased. Most can’t afford to pay the costs of services at private hospitals, so the support we have received from the WHO and UAE is decisive in this regard.”
WHO’s partnership with the United Arab Emirates is ensuring the continuance of comprehensive primary health care (PHC) and ambulatory services, surgical interventions, emergency obstetrics care, training and incentives for staff at Al Mukalla Hospital. This partnership also enables uninterrupted provisions of life-saving medicines, medical supplies, fuel, water, oxygen, and safe water.
Ms. Saloma Saeed is a certified nurse in newborn care who has worked in the nursery department at Al Mukalla Hospital for 19 years. She described her work as difficult, challenging, and highly meaningful.
“The World Health Organization provided us with incubators for newborns when we had a shortage of them, as well as other medical equipment that we require in the nursery department. After receiving this support, we have been able to effectively treat the highest number of premature babies referred to us by private hospitals.”
Asked about her hopes for the future of the Al Mukallah Hospital, Ms. Saeed answered without hesitation: “My message to the World Health Organization is to continue providing as much support as possible to hospitals in Yemen, especially this one.”
Story: Nesma Khan and Kevin Cook / WHO-Yemen
Photos: Nesma Khan