Amidst
 Violence,
 International
 Medical
 Corps'
 Emergency
 Response
 Team
 in


Yemen
Prepares
to
Bring
Vital
Health
Services
to
the
People
of
Sa'ada



Contact:

Stephanie
Bowen

Communications
Manager

310.826.7800

sbowen@imcworldwide.org



FOR
IMMEDIATE
RELEASE:



September
 21,
 2009,
 Los
 Angeles,
 Calif.
 ‐
 As
 fighting
 continues
 in
 Sa'ada
 governorate,

International
 Medical
 Corps'
 team
 in
 Yemen
 is
 assembling
 its
 emergency
 response
 to
 the

conflict
that
has
left
more
than
100,000
people
on
the
move
as
of
September
3,
according
to

the
World
Food
Programme.

Lack
of
access
to
vulnerable
populations
and
mounting
reports
of

continued
 fighting
 are
 grave
 concerns
 for
 International
 Medical
 Corps
 as
 it
 prepares
 its

response
that
will
focus
on
providing
primary
health
care,
nutrition,
water
and
sanitation,
and

other
services
to
internally
displaced
persons
and
other
vulnerable
Sa'ada
residents.



"The
 International
 Medical
 Corps
 team
 is
 focusing
 on
 services
 that
 will
 help
 communities
 in

Sa'ada
recover
and
reestablish
coping
mechanisms,"
says
Peter
Medway,
director
of
operations

for
 International
 Medical
 Corps
 UK
 and
 leader
 of
 the
 emergency
 response
 to
 Yemen.
 "With

food
and
fuel
prices
rising
and
public
health
services
scarcely
available,
the
residents
of
Sa'ada

are
not
only
in
immediate
need
of
medical
care,
but
also
of
clean
water,
food,
and
sanitation

facilities,
 as
 diarrheal
 disease
 and
 malnutrition
 are
 increasing
 risks,
 particularly
 for
 the

displaced."




Residents
of
Sa'ada
have
gone
for
more
than
a
month
now
without
water
or
electricity
and
face

severe
shortages
of
food
and
fuel
amid
rising
prices.

Many
of
the
main
health
needs
remain

unmet
 and
 services
 are
 extremely
 limited
 due
 to
 severe
 insecurity.
 
 Diarrheal
 disease,
 acute

respiratory
 infections,
 malnutrition,
 malaria,
 and
 skin
 disease
 are
 among
 the
 most
 common

diseases
reported.





"Our
emergency
response
team
will
focus
on
making
sure
that
primary
health
care
is
available

to
as
many
people
as
we
can
possibly
reach,"
says
Medway.

"They
will
also
provide
nutrition

services,
 with
 a
 focus
 on
 children
 younger
 than
 five
 years
 old,
 and
 clean
 water
 and
 hygiene

education
in
an
effort
to
prevent
some
of
the
most
commonly
reported
health
issues."



The
majority
of
internally
displaced
‐
35,000
‐
are
in
Sa'ada
Town,
while
thousands
more
have

resettled
 in
 Baqim
 in
 northern
 Sa'ada
 Governorate
 (15,000),
 Haradh
 in
 Hajjah
 Governorate

(12,500),
Amran
Governorate(28,000),
and
Al
Jawf
Governorate
(4,000).

According
to
UNICEF,

as
many
as
75,000
children
have
been
affected
by
the
conflict
‐
55,000
of
which
are
displaced.


This
influx
adds
to
the
tens
of
thousands
of
people
already
living
in
these
areas,
straining
scarce

resources.
International
Medical
Corps
is
concerned
that
the
situation
of
the
displaced
and
the

residents
will
continue
to
deteriorate
as
there
is
no
effective
end
to
the
conflict
in
sight.




Since
 its
 inception
 25
 years
 ago,
 International
 Medical
 Corps’
 mission
 has
 been
 to
 relieve
 the

suffering
of
those
impacted
by
war,
natural
disaster
and
disease,
by
delivering
vital
health
care

services
 that
 focus
 on
 training.
 This
 approach
 of
 helping
 people
 help
 themselves
 is
 critical
 to

returning
 devastated
 populations
 to
 self‐reliance.
 For
 more
 information
 visit
 our
 website
 at

www.imcworldwide.org.