Marib – From March to September of this year, the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) health team carried out 52,950 medical consultations with the internally displaced community in Marib through support from the people of Japan. 

Marib has seen the largest displacement in Yemen this year, with over 90,000 people being displaced to the city and surrounding areas as a result of increased hostilities. Prior to this the city and wider governorate were already hosting hundreds of thousands of displaced people, dwarfing the size of the welcoming local population and putting strains on resources and services.

Earlier this year in March, IOM established a health centre in Yemen’s largest displacement site, Al Jufainah Camp. Previously, the Camp had been without any permanent health care presence.

“The health centre is the only hope for me and my children to have treatment when we are sick, and we know we can trust the doctors and the medicine that they give us,” said a mother of four children and Al Jufainah Camp resident.

Today, through the Al Jufainah health centre, mobile health teams and support to local health centres and hospitals, IOM, in partnership with the people of Japan, provides around 55 percent of internally displaced people in official displacement sites—around 96,000 people—with health services.

“As IOM’s services are often the only health care available to displaced people in Marib, it was vital that we ensured continuity of our work throughout the COVID-19 pandemic while helping a vulnerable community protect itself against the disease,” said Christa Rottensteiner, IOM Yemen Chief of Mission.

“The COVID-19 outbreak, increased conflict and displacement, and extreme weather and flooding have drastically impacted Marib’s fragile public health system and have increased the pressure on IOM’s health teams across the governorate. Our ultimate goal is to limit the negative impact on the community and save as many lives as possible,” added Rottensteiner.

The Al Jufainah health centre provides primary health care services, including antenatal care sessions for pregnant women. During the first seven months of the centre, the most common cases treated by the health team were ear, nose and throat, and upper respiratory tract infections, watery diarrhoea and gastritis.

The mobile health teams also provide primary health care services in addition to community level access to malnutrition screening for children under the age of five and referral for treatment where needed as well as antenatal care and advice for pregnant women. Early intervention in both cases aids in reducing avoidable morbidity and mortality.

For more information, please contact:

• Arabic: Mennatallah Homaid, Tel: +967739888755, Email: mhomaid@iom.int  
• English: Olivia Headon, Tel: +251926379755, WhatsApp: +967730552233, Email: oheadon@iom.int