Total number of MSF staff in Yemen:
16 international staff and 539 Yemeni staff (total 558 staff). Seven more international staff are due to arrive, while another four are due to leave, so the numbers are subject to change in the next few days.
Patient figures between 19 March and 6 April:
Over 780 wounded have been treated by MSF teams (34 in Al Mazraq, over 600 in Aden and 148 Ad-Dhale)
Humanitarian aid and access:
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Our first shipment of 1.7 tonnes of supplies arrived on 8 April and the supplies are now in Aden hospital.
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A boat chartered by ICRC and carrying an MSF team is set to arrive on 8 April.
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MSF has also been able to send one surgeon into the country on an ICRC plane, which arrived 6 April. The surgeon will be working in Khamer, strengthening our surgical capacity in the north.
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We are hoping to obtain authorisation from the Saudi-led coalition as soon as possible, for a full charter plane to Sana’a within the next 48 hours.
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It remains extremely difficult to move within the country to evaluate needs and provide assistance, due to the fighting and the airstrikes.
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In Aden, fighting, attacks on ambulances, and road blocks continue to make it difficult for patients to get to hospital. The number of wounded we received has gone down despite the fact that the fighting is ongoing.
MSF operations by location:
Aden
· Clashes continue in the city of Aden, where MSF runs its Emergency Surgical Unit. There has been no electricity for the past three days and it has become very hard to contact our staff as phone batteries have run out. The water supply has also been switched off in some highly populated areas.
· Since 19 March, MSF has received over 600 injured people at the hospital. However, in recent days the number of patients received has significantly reduced, despite the clashes continuing and indeed increasing in some areas. We received more than 550 injured between 19- 31 March, while only 62 injured were able to reach the hospital between 1-5 April.
· The reduction in patient numbers indicates that wounded patients are facing difficulties getting to the hospital. Movement is very risky, roads are blocked and ambulances have been attacked and hijacked. A total of seven MoH ambulances have gone missing. In addition, two Yemeni Red Crescent volunteers were killed on 3 April whilst in an ambulance. MSF staff members are still facing difficulties getting to and from the hospital, and some staff have been living at the hospital.
· MSF sent out a local call on 3 April expressing concern over the lack of hospital access for patients and to call for respect for ambulances, health workers and patients. We have also been using social media to ask for the respect of ambulances, health workers and medical structures, so that patients can access treatment.
· On the evening of 7 April, there was heavy fighting around the hospital in Aden, and MSF began receiving the wounded in the morning of 8 April. No figures on patient numbers are available yet.
Ad-Dhale
After a couple of days of relative calm, there was renewed violence on 6 April. We received 17 wounded and three dead in Al Nasser, and three wounded in Qataba. A total of 148 wounded by violence have been treated to date.
Our ambulance service running referrals to Al Nasser and Qataba had been suspended following two security incidents last week, but is now up and running again following the reconfirmation of security guarantees. However, referrals between Ad-Dhale and the hospital in Aden extremely difficult.
Sana’a
Airstrikes have continued day and night. We are seeing queues at fuel stations and people are starting to leave the city. There are increasing reports of robberies, suggesting an increase in opportunistic crime. Our teams continue to be on alert and are monitoring needs. MSF is in contact with the Ministry of Health and hospitals in the city. We are providing supplies to Al Yumuri hospital in Sana’a. MSF’s regular HIV project in Sana’a is ongoing.
Khamer
In the town of Khamer, where MSF runs a hospital, the team is also assessing the situation after reports of IDP flows in the governorate, and is ready to respond. An MSF surgeon has arrived to support our work in the north.
Haradh town, Hajjah governorate
MSF supports the hospital in the town of Haradh. Al Mazraq Camp was hit by an airstrike on 30 March. At least 34 people wounded in the attack were brought by ambulance to the MSF-supported hospital in Haradh. Al Mazraq Camp was established in 2009, when thousands of people fled fighting between government troops and Houthi forces in Saada Governorate.