With support from the State of Qatar, Qatar Red Crescent (QRC) has recently begun an urgent humanitarian intervention to help the Yemeni refugees arriving in Djibouti after fleeing the armed conflict in Aden, Lahj, Taiz and other parts of their country.
Yemenis cross the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb using unsafe fishing boats, in a too risky voyage across the world’s most crowded waterway. So far, as many as 8,896 people have fled, and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) projects the figure to hit 30,000 people in the coming weeks if the conflict lasts.
In response to this humanitarian tragedy, QRC has planned a $1.5mn relief programme in shelter and healthcare for the Yemeni refugees in Djibouti, which has too poor health facilities to face the increasing numbers of seriously injured Yemenis moved there (currently 4,500).
To deal with the wide gap between the total capacity of Aden hospitals (1,300 beds) and the needed capacity (3,200), QRC resorted to moving the injured Yemenis for treatment in Djibouti.
The first batch of 60 injuries and their families will be admitted to the contracted public and private hospitals. A doctor will be sent to Djibouti to perform critical surgeries, if needed.