Sana"a, Yemen: delivering medication in a city below siege

Damaged automobiles are observed in the course of the three months of civil unrest at the Defence Ministry compound in Sana’a. Photograph: Handout/Reuters

In late 2010 and the beginning of 2011, the situation in my nation commenced to deteriorate. Very first, there have been the demonstrations and protests in the capital Sana’a then violent clashes broke out all more than the nation.

At the time, I was functioning for Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) and the ministry of health at the HIV clinic in Al-Gumhuri hospital, the only facility in Sana’a that offers antiretroviral therapy to individuals suffering from the virus.

It was clear to us that we necessary to be ready for the worst. With a lot more than 350 patients obtaining reside-conserving ARV treatment at our facility, we essential to put a prepare in location that meant we could carry on to get medication to individuals if conflict broke out.

In Yemen, receiving therapy for HIV is currently challenging. As a basic rule, HIV good patients discover receiving examined and taken care of for the sickness quite hard due to the fact of the stigma associated with it. They’ve been misinformed about the condition and have lived their entire lives seeing how HIV optimistic individuals are discriminated against – even by health employees. Even I had misconceptions all around HIV until I trained as a nurse and learned the science behind it.

In spring 2011 the fighting intensified and Sana’a was divided into two sides. Various armed groups took in excess of sections of the city and moving about grew to become extremely difficult. Clashes close to the hospital meant the workers had been trapped within for three days. The predicament became too harmful for foreign personnel to hang all around, they have been all moved to risk-free homes and flown out of the nation.

But most of the Yemeni employees stayed on. Though we could no longer run our regular actions at Al-Gumhuri, we nonetheless required to get ARV medication to the HIV patients, or else their condition could deteriorate and they could even die. So we place our effectively-laid programs into action.

In the months leading up to the conflict, the MSF and Ministry of Well being staff had offered special cards to every single of our sufferers. The cards were a way for individuals to get in touch when they essential their medication delivered, must we have to suspend our normal pursuits. These overall health cards did not have any information on them that could determine them or me, they had my cellphone amount on it, and that is all.

The patient would get in touch with me and give me their patient quantity. From that number, I’d know what sort of drug regimen they had been on and I’d be ready to gather the acceptable ARVs from storage. The patient would then give me a place, and I would both take my vehicle to drop the proper ARV medicine off there, or I’d depart it – tucked discreetly into a shopping bag wherever they requested. Doing this I visited some quite uncommon places – I as soon as was asked to depart the medicines in a supermarket and another time at a photographer’s studio.

Sometimes individuals would even come to my house and acquire the medication that they necessary or I would choose them up in the street, give them their medication whilst I drove, and then drop them off in another location so as to avoid putting ourselves in danger. People would phone me day and evening I had no thought how long this was going to go on for, so at instances it appeared like it would in no way finish. It did not matter to me how it happened, though. All that mattered is that the sick individuals got handled, even while the two sides of the city had been on lockdown.

Early on, it became clear that we have been going to have to move the retailers of drugs. We had originally planned to preserve them in the National AIDS programme facility in a central portion of town. As it occurred, though, that area became the scene of steady hefty fighting and it wasn’t risk-free for me to be going in and out. We agreed that the greatest factor to do would be to get all those prescription drugs and move them to a loved ones residence. As soon as, as I was leaving the facility, there was a large explosion, a bomb went off near my auto. I was fine but it shook me, I had no idea it was coming.

The city was divided along political lines and crossing frontlines to make deliveries was challenging. I was continually questioned at checkpoints, as every single side was concerned that I may be supporting the other. Of course, MSF is a neutral humanitarian organisation that treats everybody, regardless of any sort of affiliation or belief but you consider telling that to the guy with the automated weapon. Sometimes my wife and two children would come with me, if I had my household in the auto, we wouldn’t be stopped.

Right after three months, the energetic fighting came to an finish, and we have been in a position to resume complete pursuits in Sana’a. And for all the difficult function, the prepare was a success: we were ready to reach all of the 363 individuals needing ARV therapy during the fighting, with 97% of them coming back to us to continue their therapy soon after it was more than. There had been some scary and stressful times, but I by no means felt like it was too much for me. In truth, the sufferers became like loved ones to me, I was often the only individual they could trust. I hope there will by no means once again be unrest like this in my nation. But if ever there is, we’ll be prepared.

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Sana"a, Yemen: delivering medication in a city below siege