SANAA, Feb 4 (NNN-SABA) – The World Health Organisation (WHO), announced that, the first flight carrying Yemeni patients in critical need of treatment left the country’s rebel-held capital, Sanaa.
According to WHO, the UN-marked plane, bound for Amman, with eight patients and their relatives, took off from Houthi-controlled airport of Sanaa, which has been closed to commercial flights since 2016.
WHO posted a statement saying that, “As part of the UN’s medical air-bridge operation, the patients will receive life-saving specialised care not available in Yemen.”
“The majority of the patients are women and children, who suffer from conditions, such as aggressive forms of cancer and brain tumours, or who need organ transplants and reconstructive surgeries. The flights offer them a lifeline to receive the treatment they need to survive,” said the statement.
WHO confirmed that the medical operation is expected to continue with another three flights this week, bound for Amman and Cairo, carrying a total of 30 patients.
On Sunday, the United Nations Special Envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, arrived in the rebel-held capital, Sanaa to facilitate the humanitarian “medical air-bridge.”
Yemen’s airspace has been controlled by the Saudi-led coalition, since its intervention in the Yemeni conflict in Mar, 2015.– NNN-SABA
