Sana’a International Airport Closure: Yemeni Patients Face Death and Lack of Medicine
By: Mahdi Al-Bahri
Airports are a lifeline for any healthcare system, especially in countries with limited medical resources. In Yemen, Sana’a International Airport is the primary air gateway for patients traveling abroad for treatment, in addition to its vital role in importing life-saving medicines and medical supplies.
When the airport closes or flights are suspended, not only does travel cease, but so does the entry of life-saving medicines and medical supplies, particularly those related to kidney transplants, cancer treatment, open-heart surgery, and medications for cancer and chronic diseases upon which patients rely continuously.
The continued closure of the airport has serious health and humanitarian consequences, most notably delays in critical surgeries, endangering the lives of many patients and increasing the likelihood of death. Cancer patients also face difficulties accessing treatment protocols unavailable locally, such as immunotherapy and targeted therapy. Furthermore, the closure exacerbates the psychological distress experienced by patients and their families, who live in constant fear of deteriorating health, thus intensifying depression and anxiety among those with chronic illnesses.
The closure also prevents the entry of medicines and medical supplies, leading to shortages of medications for chronic diseases such as insulin, hypertension, heart disease, kidney failure, epilepsy, and asthma. The lack of these medications can cause diabetic coma, stroke, acute kidney failure, and seizures. Similarly, cancer medications are unavailable. Chemotherapy, for example, is sensitive to temperature and time, and delaying it by weeks reduces its effectiveness by 40-60%, according to World Health Organization protocols. All of this puts increasing pressure on local hospitals, which are now receiving patients who should be treated abroad, leading to higher mortality rates in intensive care units. In this regard, the Minister of Health and Environment, Dr. Ali Shaiban, reiterated that the continued closure of Sana’a International Airport is a crime against humanity and a blatant violation of international humanitarian laws and conventions.
In a statement to the Yemeni News Agency (SABA), Dr. Shaiban stated that the closure of Sana’a Airport, which was targeted by the Zionist enemy, has resulted in a severe shortage of most medicines and other items that require special transport conditions (refrigeration).
He emphasized that the blockade and airport closure have deprived thousands of patients of essential medications, including those for kidney transplant recipients, blood products, hormonal and immunomodulatory drugs, resuscitation and anesthetic medications, anticoagulants, diagnostic solutions, and others. He called upon the United Nations and its organizations not to turn a blind eye to this catastrophic tragedy, which has already claimed the lives of thousands of patients and continues to claim thousands more.
Dr. Shaiban pointed out that the aggressor forces disregard all humanitarian and ethical considerations in imposing this suffocating blockade on the Yemeni people, a blockade unprecedented in human history, all while the international community remains shamefully silent. Regarding the direct health impacts, a report issued by the Ministry of Health and Environment, a copy of which was received by the Yemeni News Agency (SABA), explained that the continued closure of the airport has led to shortages of medicines and medical supplies, including life-saving drugs, anesthetics, blood products, medications for genetic diseases, cancer, and chronic illnesses, kidney transplants, dialysis treatments, targeted therapies, and laboratory and diagnostic reagents. Furthermore, several local pharmaceutical factories have ceased operations due to the prevention of raw material imports and the arbitrary measures imposed by the aggression’s mercenaries, which have obstructed the smooth and efficient entry of medicines and vital supplies.
The report indicated that hundreds of thousands of patients have been denied travel abroad for treatment, particularly those requiring specialized care, especially for cancer and cardiac surgery. It also noted the prevention of foreign medical missions, which had expressed their readiness to perform delicate surgeries, from entering the country. The report pointed out that more than 90 percent of patients are unable to travel due to economic conditions and the arbitrary procedures imposed on patients at airports controlled by the aggression’s proxies. According to the report, 8,000 kidney dialysis patients are struggling for their lives due to a shortage of their medications. It confirmed that 5,000 dialysis patients have already died as a result of the blockade and the prevention of the entry of dialysis solutions and hemodialysis equipment.
The report also stated that 100,000 cancer patients are battling the disease due to the blockade, which has caused a shortage of ten essential medications and a 60% deficit in their required drugs. Furthermore, more than 40,000 patients with thalassemia and other hemolytic anemias are at risk of death due to the scarcity of medications and the prevention of their entry through Sana’a International Airport. These medications include iron chelation therapy and related solutions. The report confirmed that 684 patients have died out of the 8,430 receiving treatment at the Yemeni Thalassemia Society’s treatment center. The report noted a 60% decline in pharmaceutical imports due to arbitrary measures, with over 83 importers, who previously supplied more than 1,329 types of medications, ceasing operations. It also highlighted a 30% shortage of many hemophilia and leukemia medications. The report further stated that 600 leukemia patients are currently undergoing treatment, 200 of whom require bone marrow transplants abroad.
According to the report, over 8,685 cases of leukemia are considered untreatable within the country between 2021 and 2025. Additionally, 77,412 patients require treatment abroad between 2018 and 2025, while 15,482 are unable to travel due to financial constraints. Finally, 12,251 patients are unable to travel due to the blockade of Sana’a Airport. Regarding the number of patients needing to travel abroad for treatment in 2025, the report stated that 1,154 patients require nuclear scans, 117 have congenital heart defects, 65 need corneal transplants, 109 suffer from liver failure, and three require bone marrow transplants.
Therefore, patients have the right to life, and access to health, food, and medicine is an absolute human right that cannot be violated under any political or military pretext.
Closing the airport has direct consequences for people’s lives. Preventing patients from traveling and preventing medicine from entering the country simply means a “slow death sentence” for thousands of cases.
The solution begins with separating the humanitarian aspect from any political dispute and opening a permanent humanitarian air corridor for patients and medicines, in accordance with UN resolutions and international humanitarian principles. The right to treatment and medicine is a fundamental and inalienable right.
