With a mobil clinic, INTERSOS is the only organisation providing basic medical care at the Al-Ribat IDP site (Lahj governorate), where more than 3,000 people live in tents
Samia, nine months pregnant, is one of the four million people displaced by the ongoing conflict in Yemen. She left her home in Al-Hali district (Al-Hudaida governorate) five years ago to seek a safe haven in Al-Basateen (Aden), at the home of relatives. When the economic situation worsened and her husband became unemployed, she settled in the Al-Ribat IDP site in Tuban district (Lahj governorate), where more than 3,000 people live in tents. INTERSOS is the only organisation providing basic medical care at the site.
“I was about to die before I even gave birth to my son because the hospital was full. They gave me an ultrasound and said I could go home. It was the INTERSOS staff, who had previously provided me with prenatal care on their mobile clinic, telling me it was vaginal bleeding and that it was serious, especially in the ninth month of pregnancy.” Samia said. “After returning home I remember I started feeling sick. I was taken directly to the INTERSOS mobile clinic, a kind of van equipped with a cot and medical equipment, where I gave birth safely. I was also cared for after the birth, and I continue to see Ola regularly”. Ola is one of the precious INTERSOS volunteers involved in community awareness activities, who follow, accompany and inform many mothers on the importance and good practices of breastfeeding and infant feeding.
What is considered unacceptable in Italy is the norm in Yemen. Every two hours a woman dies in childbirth because of a health system that has collapsed.
Thanks to the support of the European Union, we offer emergency integrated health, nutrition and protection services to conflict-affected and displaced people in Hajja (Abs and Ku’aydina districts), Aden (districts of Al-Buraiqa and Dar Sa’ad) and Lahj (Al-Ribat IDP camp in Tuban district).