Yemen’s legitimate government accused the Iran-backed Houthi militias of hindering the delivery of medicine to 3,000 cancer patients in the Ibb governorate, as the militants continue to restrict humanitarian aid in various regions under their control.
The government’s announcement coincided with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) accusing the Houthis of confiscating dozens of medical and humanitarian aid trucks and suspending more than 50 sub-agreements with UN and international non-government organizations.
In February alone, the Houthis seized 71 trucks loaded with humanitarian and medical aid, said OCHA. Dozens more UN and INGO-contracted trucks have been stopped in Ibb in recent weeks
Approvals of sub-agreement continue to slow humanitarian activities, it added.
As of the end of March, seven sub-agreements for projects funded by the Yemen Humanitarian Fund (YHF), which together aim to reach a total of 236,000 people, were pending approval from the Houthis.
Separately, INGOs reported that 45 sub-agreements were pending since March, for projects to assist a cumulative total of more than 430,000 people.
Armed conflict compounded bureaucratic challenges in Hajjah. In late-February, amid escalating fighting in Kushar district, more than 41 trucks with shelter assistance and non-food items were blocked from entering the governorate, slowing the delivery of emergency assistance to newly displaced families. The Houthis eventually allowed the relief materials to enter the governorate.
On February 15, 30 UN trucks transporting perishable medical supplies from Aden to Hodeidah were impounded by the Customs House in Ibb, said OCHA.
Meanwhile, Yemen's High Relief Committee demanded Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock and UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen Lise Grande to urgently intervene to release the medical aid.
The committee said in the statement that the Houthis' detention of cancer drugs is risking the lives of 3,000 patients in Ibb. The statement added that 50 percent of cancer drugs have already run out in the only single Tumors Center specialized in cancer treatment.
The committee described the Houthi actions as “terrorist crimes that target the entire society and violate international laws,” warning that the health sector in Ibb was on the verge of collapse.
It expressed its disappointment with Grande’s ongoing “unacceptable” silence over these practices, saying it only encourages the Houthis to continue to commit more crimes in non-liberated regions.
The committee noted that Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi had ordered that all support be provided to UN and international agencies to implement their relief programs and deliver aid throughout Yemen.
It renewed its calls on the international community to assume its responsibilities and take the necessary measures to deliver aid and ensure that such Houthi violations are not repeated.
