Abdullah was playing outside with his friends, when an airstrike blasted his village in Yemen. After doctors amputated his leg, Humanity & Inclusion helped Abdullah stand tall again.

The attack in December 2019, deeply affected Abdullah, 12. Not only was he gravely injured, but his cousin, who was like a brother to him, was killed. In an effort to save his life, Abdullah was rushed to Al Kuwait Hospital in Sana’a, where his leg was amputated.

The hospital is more than five hours from Al-Hudaida, where Abdullah lives with 11 siblings and his parents in a small house. Until recently, the village was the scene of frequent fighting and airstrikes. Living in poverty and isolation, Abdullah’s family does not have access to health services, electricity, food or water. The nearest school is miles away. For Abdullah and his family, getting the boy fitted for a prosthetic leg seemed out of reach at first.

Confined to the hospital for almost a month, Abdullah struggled with the grief of losing his cousin. He worried he would never play, walk or run again.

Traumatized, Abdullah was afraid of the doctors who came to see him. He screamed whenever physical therapists tried to do rehabilitation exercises with him. He was completely lost. Everything frightened him. 

Humanity & Inclusion’s team took the time to reassure him and build his confidence. The team gave him psychological support and rehabilitation care. He went from using a wheelchair to crutches.

Then, the team fitted him with a below-the-knee prosthetic leg, and conducted rehabilitation sessions to help strengthen his muscles and teach him to walk again. The team also taught Abdullah and one of his brothers how to maintain and clean the artificial limb.

Abdullah is now walking with the help of his new leg. He will receive new prosthetics as he grows.

Humanity & Inclusion in Yemen

Yemen has been devastated by an ongoing conflict that began in March 2015. Humanity & Inclusion teams work in nine health centers and treats patients from all over the country. Since Humanity & Inclusion began its operations in Yemen six years ago, teams have treated 30,000 people, many of them victims of the conflict. More than 3,000 people were victims of explosive weapons such as bombings, explosive remnants of war, landmines, and improvised explosive devices.

Humanity & Inclusion has provided more than 35,000 crutches, walkers, wheelchairs and other mobility aids to people in Yemen. More than 500 people have been fitted with prosthetics and orthotics through Humanity & Inclusion's collaboration with the Sana'a Physical Therapy and Prosthesis Center.

In additional to physical rehabilitation, nearly 23,000 people have received psychological support from Humanity & Inclusion. More than 800 Yemeni health workers have been trained in early trauma response. Support Yemenis with disabilities affected by the ongoing conflict.

Header image: A boy named Abdullah holds his amputated leg while waiting to be fitted with a prosthetic in Yemen. Copyright: ISNA Agency/HI

Inline image: Abdullah, 12, practices walking over obstacles with his new prosthetic leg in Yemen. Copyright: ISNA Agency/HI

Humanity & Inclusion has built a new rehabilitation unit in Sana’a, North Yemen, where patients will have access to specific rehabilitation equipment such as treatment tables, shoulder wheels and exercise bikes.

Yemen has been torn apart by five years of conflict. Before the conflict, rehabilitation services were already deeply insufficient. Now, these needs have skyrocketed with half of the country's medical infrastructures unable to operate.

Humanity & Inclusion's new rehabilitation unit at the Al Kuwait hospital, one of the main hospitals in Sana’a, will enable patients to receive the high-quality medical support they need before being discharged. The rehabilitation unit will be run by one physical therapist and three assistants trained by Humanity & Inclusion.

This project is possible thanks to the support of the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway and Luxembourg.

Who will benefit from the new rehabilitation unit?

300 patients are expected to benefit from the new facility every month.  This will include inpatients from every hospital department such as orthopedic, neurological and surgical departments as well as outpatients.

The injuries of the patients who will be treated at this unit will vary from those caused by traffic accidents to those caused by airstrikes or explosive devices arising from the ongoing conflict. Patients may also receive rehabilitation support if they experience chronic diseases or have disabilities. Other NGOs will refer patients to Humanity & Inclusion’s unit if they are on a list to receive prosthetics or orthotics.

Why is the rehabilitation unit so vital?

Al Kuwait hospital is the third largest public hospital in the capital with a capacity of around 300 beds. Patients who are admitted to this hospital travel from different regions within an average radius of 125 miles. 

Rehabilitation work in Yemen

• Humanity & Inclusion’s team operates in nine health facilities across Sana’a, Aden and Mokha and has supported 30,000 beneficiaries since its operations started in late 2015.
• 34,000 mobility aids have been distributed since 2015, including equipment such as crutches, wheelchairs, walking sticks/canes, walkers, etc.
• Almost 500 people have been provided with prosthetics or orthotics.
• Humanity & Inclusion has helped train nearly 900 medical professionals.

Adapting to Covid-19

Humanity & Inclusion has adapted its activities in Yemen in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. For example:

• Humanity & Inclusion has provided staff and patients with hygiene kits and personal protective equipment.
• The team has also worked to set up information sessions for the most vulnerable populations to highlight the risks and raise awareness of the pandemic.
• A telephone line has been set up to allow staff to continue monitoring patients and their families remotely.
• Humanity & Inclusion has followed more than 200 patients with Covid-19, identifying their needs, and referring them to the appropriate services.

Image: Two treatment tables and other equipment are shown in a room at Humanity & Inclusion's new rehabilitation unit in Yemen. Copyright: HI

Eight international non-governmental organizations working in Yemen strongly condemn the reprehensible attack that took place on Monday July 15, in the north of Yemen, killing 13 civilians – including four children.

Mohamed Abdi, Country Director for the Norwegian Refugee Council in Yemen, said: “These 13 people should not have come under attack and their families should not be mourning them today. An investigation must take place, and warring parties responsible for their deaths must be held accountable if it is confirmed that this strike violated international humanitarian law.”

This morning also saw numerous airstrikes on Sana’a, including in residential areas.

The attack on 13 civilians happened the same day as the publication of the UN’s Children and Armed Conflict report, which saw the Saudi Arabia and UAE-led coalition removed from the report’s blacklist for the first time in three years. This is despite the fact that, according to the report, the coalition killed or injured 222 children in Yemen last year. In total, all parties to the conflict were responsible for 689 such casualties last year.

A unilateral ceasefire was announced by Saudi Arabia in April, but there was little evidence that this translated on the ground, and it has since ended. Violence by all parties to the conflict has continued, even during the ceasefire, including airstrikes and shelling.

Muhsin Siddiquey, Country Director of Oxfam in Yemen, said: “We condemn all violence by all parties to the conflict. What the people of Yemen need now more than ever is a nationwide ceasefire, and a return to negotiations between the warring parties. More than five years since the escalation of this bloody conflict, it is high time that action is taken to ensure that peace can return to Yemen.”

INGO signatories of the statement:

• CARE
• Danish Refugee Council
• Handicap International/Humanity & Inclusion
• Mercy Corps
• Norwegian Refugee Council
• Oxfam
• Saferworld
• Save the Children

END

Notes to Editors

• Figures on child casualties can be found within the UN Secretary General’s report on Children and Armed Conflict. According to this report, the coalition will be subject to one year of monitoring and any failure to further decrease child casualties would result in it being listed again next year.
• This attack is in the context of a growing COVID-19 crisis in Yemen which, alongside mass flooding in several parts of the country, has caused an increase in humanitarian need.
• In light of this attack, upcoming UN Security Council meetings on Yemen and on Children and Armed Conflict are opportune moments to reiterate the calls for a permanent ceasefire, and for stronger calls to stop and denounce civilian deaths in conflict.

For media interviews, please contact:

• Sarah Grainger, Oxfam Senior Press Officer, [email protected], +44 781 018 1514
• Riona Judge McCormack, NRC Communications and Media Coordination, [email protected], +353 85 257 1926

Bombing in populated areas has wiped out decades of development in Yemen, according to a new Humanity & Inclusion report, “Death Sentence to Civilians: The Long-Term Impact of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas in Yemen.”

In five years of war, Yemen has experienced every manner of explosive weapons—aerial bombs and missiles, artillery, mortars, and improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and much more. The explosions destroy bridges, ports, roads, hospitals, water systems, and generate long lasting civilian harm. When explosive weapons strike roads and bridges, they greatly increase the time it takes to re-supply cities. Such damage cuts deeply into food and water access, and has negative effects on population health.

“Bombing urban areas is a slow and silent health crime,” says Alison Bottomley, Advocacy Advisor for Humanity & Inclusion. “Vital medical health structures are being wiped out: 50% of health facilities can no longer fully function, reducing the country's medical and health-care capacity by half. Repetitive bombing of medical facilities and the destruction of sewage systems is decimating Yemen’s health infrastructure, encouraging the return of water-related diseases.”

The report highlights six case studies, showing the extent and impact of such bombings. The effects of the Hodeidah port bombing in 2015 can still be felt today. This single event triggered major, ongoing disruptions to the supply of basic goods, and resulted in steep price hikes for essential items, such as food. 

In fact, up to 600 civilian infrastructures were destroyed or damaged each month in 2018, according to the Humanitarian Needs Overview. In a country where 24.1 million people (three quarters of the population) need humanitarian aid, such damages only exacerbate the humanitarian crisis.

Fifty percent of medical facilities no longer function, while 19.7 million people are in need of healthcare and 17.8 million people lack access to safe water and sanitation. The economic blockade and disruption to the economy have inflated the cost of food and fuel.

With social and medical services disorganized and further weakened, the population is left acutely exposed in health emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic. “Entire populations—especially displaced people—are extremely vulnerable and have the least access to the health, water, and sanitation services they need to protect themselves from COVID-19,” Bottomley adds.

Civilian harm

Explosive weapons killed or injured nearly 16,300 people in Yemen between 2015 and 2018, according to the organization Action on Armed Violence (AOAV). About 80% of them were civilians. When explosive weapons were used in populated areas in Yemen, AOAV found that 95% of casualties were civilians.

“Bombing and shelling in Yemen kills and injures civilians on the spot,” Bottomley adds. “It also has a lingering and long-term impact for generations of people that will survive the war. If the war in Yemen were to end today, people would still have to bear the brunt of destroyed roads, bridges, hospitals and harbors. Even before the conflict, Yemen had insufficient health, water, and transportation infrastructure. Access to basic goods, including medicine and basic services, is much more limited now.”

Extensive bombing of populated areas has set Yemen back 21 years, according to the 2019 UNDP report, Assessing the Impact of War on development in Yemen. That’s a whole generation. Yemen will not be able to bear the appalling cost of reconstruction, or even the vital decontamination of explosive remnants of war that will be necessary prior to any reconstruction.

Diplomatic process to end bombing in urban areas

Humanity & Inclusion, as a co-founding member of International Network on Explosive Weapons (INEW), is working with States to develop a strong political declaration to end the use of explosive weapons with wide area effects in populated areas and to ensure support to the victims of these weapons.

Negotiations for a political declaration to end the human suffering caused by the use of explosive weapons in populated areas started in Vienna on October 1-2, 2019. Two rounds of negotiations took place in Geneva during November 2019 and February 2020 and will be followed by another round of consultations later in 2020. This diplomatic process will be finalized with a political declaration that will be opened for endorsement.

So far, the U.S. has sent a delegation to meetings about the political declaration, but has opposed the political declaration.

More than five years of brutal war in Yemen have left millions of Yemenis weakened by malnutrition and disease, and decimated Yemen’s health system. The imminent threat of COVID-19 will exacerbate an already dire humanitarian situation--80% of the population is in need of humanitarian assistance, the majority of whom are women and children; two-thirds of the country lacks adequate access to clean water and sanitation; millions are living on the brink of starvation; nearly 20 million people lack access to adequate healthcare; and cholera, dengue, and other preventable diseases are already rife. These factors create an environment dangerously conducive to the severe and rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus, threatening countless civilian lives.

Especially in light of this extraordinary threat, we, the undersigned NGOs, cautiously welcome the announcement by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia of a temporary cessation of hostilities in Yemen. We urge all parties to the conflict in Yemen to immediately halt fighting, to implement a ceasefire on the ground without delay, to release all detainees and those forcibly disappeared, and to work with the UN Special Envoy to urgently restart comprehensive and inclusive political negotiations to end the conflict.  

A ceasefire alone cannot stop the spread of COVID-19 in Yemen. All parties must immediately lift restrictions and end interference with vital humanitarian operations; ensure immediate access to populations in need; facilitate the movement of humanitarian workers and goods and of commercial imports; and end blockades and other actions and policies that prevent or restrict essential commercial imports into Yemen, to maintain the humanitarian response for the millions of Yemenis who need aid to survive, and to support Yemenis’ economic livelihood. Yemeni civil society must also be supported to continue their essential role in responding to the crisis. Simultaneously, the international community must ramp up funding for the full range of humanitarian programming in Yemen. Amid this global pandemic, any suspension of life-saving assistance for Yemen, or politicization of humanitarian access and funding, will leave Yemen’s already vulnerable civilian population at heightened risk.

A cessation of hostilities in Yemen can only be a first step. Yemenis need a durable ceasefire, a comprehensive and inclusive political settlement to the current conflict, unencumbered access to humanitarian aid and commercial imports, and accountability for the violations all sides have committed during this war. Yemen cannot wait any longer for an end to the conflict and humanitarian devastation that has ravaged the civilian population for over five years.

Signed by:

1. ACAT-France (Action by Christians Against Torture)
2. Action against Hunger
3. Action Corps
4. Alliance for Peacebuilding
5. Alliance internationale pour la défense des droits et des libertés (AIDL)
6. ALQST for Human Rights
7. Avaaz
8. Bread for the World
9. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies
10. CARE International
11. Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC)
12. Center for International Policy
13. Center for Policy Analysis in Horn of Africa
14. CIVICUS
15. Cordaid - Catholic Organisation for Relief and Development
16. Cure Violence Global
17. Danish Refugee Council
18. Dhameer for Rights and Freedoms
19. Freedom Forward
20. Friends Committee on National Legislation
21. Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
22. Global Communities
23. Humanity & Inclusion (the new name of Handicap International) 
24. Human Rights First
25. International Civil Society Action Network
26. International Federation for Human Rights
27. International Rescue Committee
28. Islamic Relief Worldwide
29. Karuna Center for Peacebuilding
30. Médecins du Monde
31. Mercy Corps
32. Mothers of Abductees Association
33. Musaala for Human Rights Organization
34. Mwatana for Human Rights
35. Norwegian Refugee Council
36. Observatoire des armements
37. Oxfam
38. Pax Christi International
39. Peace and Building Foundation
40. Peace Direct
41. Physicians for Human Rights
42. Première Urgence Internationale
43. Project on Middle East Democracy
44. Refugees International
45. Saferworld
46. Salam for Yemen
47. Search for Common Ground
48. Solidarités International
49. STAND: The student-led movement to end mass atrocities
50. Students for Yemen
51. Tearfund
52. United Nations Association of the National Capital Area
53. Watch for Human Rights
54. Win Without War
55. World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
56. Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation
57. Yemen Solidarity Network
58. Yemen Civil Alliance for Peacebuilding
59. Yemeni Alliance Committee

Yasser was doing his homework with his father on the rooftop of the house in Ta'z when a missile exploded. The next day, the 12-year-old boy came out of a coma at the hospital. His father was killed, his house was destroyed, his left leg was gone. After a month of recovery, Yasser's mother decided to take him to Sana'a to follow the rehabilitation care recommended by Humanity & Inclusion's team. 

Sana, a psychologist with Humanity & Inclusion, recounts the first time meeting Yasser. "Yasser had lost the taste for everything. He no longer spoke. Refused any contact. It was necessary that we help restore his confidence and the desire to live.

"We took him out of his isolation. He was given a cane that provide better mobility than the crutches he had. He was included in a group with other children his age who were all in the same situation–having to make the same efforts to relearn how to walk. The possibility of an artificial leg gave him the hope of becoming a child again."

Since 2015, Humanity & Inclusion has provided 4,200 prosthetics and orthotics and 21,000 mobility devices such as wheelchairs, crutches, and walkers, to Yemenis like Yasser. We've also conducted 20,000 rehabilitation and psychosocial support sessions.

Photo captions: Yasser learns how to walk on his new prosthetic leg with support from physical therapists from Humanity & Inclusion.

The humanitarian situation in Yemen, one of the Arab world's poorest countries, is alarming. Humanity & Inclusion is on the ground helping survivors and ensuring that individuals living in extreme hardships receive vital aid.

Read the latest facts and figures report from Yemen (January 2020)

When war comes to cities, civilians need your help. Today, more than ever, your support is essential. Make a gift today.

In 2019, 13-year-old Heba was victim to an airstrike in Sada’a, Yemen. Her injuries were so severe that in order for her to survive, her leg had to be amputated.

"When I woke up from coma two days later, I saw myself without my leg,” Heba says. “I felt so miserable.”

Vital rehabilitation care

At the Al-Thawra hospital in Sana’a, Humanity & Inclusion’s team of rehabilitation experts explained the possibilities of gaining strength through physical therapy and being fit with a prosthesis. Three weeks later, the team took her measures to produce the prosthetic.

Thanks to our team of physical therapists, Heba benefited from balance exercises, gait training, and strengthening exercises which allows her to walk on her prosthetic leg.

Standing tall with pride

She is now able to go up and down the stairs. "Before, I was in bed and I couldn't stand up, walk, or balance," she says. "I’m so happy to have a prosthesis! I want to go back to school. I hope that I can become a pharmacist.”  

Future dreams

In the future, Heba dreams of one day purchasing a large piece of land so she can build a pharmacy and distribute free pharmaceuticals to people in need.

One night, as everyone was asleep, seven-year-old Marwan’s neighbor's house was bombed. Everything exploded. The house where the little boy lived with his family was plunged into chaos. There were screams of terror and pain as members of his family ran around aimlessly in the dark.

His uncle finally spotted the little boy. "I found Marwan and pulled him towards me, but his right leg was just hanging from him,” he says. “He was screaming and asking for his parents. They were all injured. We took them to the hospital where they were given first aid and referred to a bigger and better-equipped hospital in another province. The doctors said Marwan's leg needed to be amputated. He was crying so hard. After the surgery, he became sad and frustrated."

When he got out of the hospital, despite their injuries, his parents supported and encouraged him, but he became reserved and depressed. Seeing his condition worsened, his uncle gave him a pair of crutches. He refused to use them at first, but eventually hopped around on them as best he could. When Marwan’s doctor told him he could be fitted with a prosthesis, he felt hope that he might walk again.

Gaining strength through rehabilitation

Four months after the explosion, Marwan and his uncle traveled to the Sana’a rehabilitation center in Yemen, run by Humanity & Inclusion. Marwan was measured for a prosthesis and given better crutches to move around more easily while he waited. He also attended psychosocial support sessions and gradually learned how to play with other children and to share in their games again.

His prosthesis is ready, but he has to learn how to walk again. Marwan is now attending rehabilitation sessions. With his "new leg," he will be able to play his favorite game, soccer, again. His real self is beginning to shine through. He is full of energy and laughter and tells us he wants to be a doctor when he grows up: "A doctor who treats people's legs," he says, very seriously.

"My nephew can go back to school now and live like any other child," adds his uncle. "I want to thank the entire Humanity & Inclusion team for helping him cope with his disability."

Humanity & Inclusion and the Yemen crisis

Humanity & Inclusion (which operates under the name Handicap International in Yemen) operated in the country from the early 2000s up to 2012, focusing on physical rehabilitation. Since returning in 2014, our mission has grown. Today, we provide direct services to individuals affected by the ongoing conflict, particularly people with disabilities, through rehabilitation care and psychosocial support at eight public health facilities in and around Sana’a city. Learn more about our work and the Yemen crisis.

Support our work

Your gift today could help our rehabilitation teams provide vital physical therapy so that children with disabilities like Marwan can stand tall. 

Support our rehabilitation work. Make a tax-deductible gift today.

"I was riding my motorbike when the airstrike happened,” Abdulrahmam says as he remembers the day he was injured in north Yemen. “I was hit by a shard of debris in my right arm. My arm almost fall apart, I was bleeding a lot. I lost consciousness. A truck driver picked me up and took me to Abs hospital. Later on, I was transferred to Sana'a.”

Abdulrahmam Ali Salem is from Aldabrah, a small village in the Hajjah governorate in North Yemen. The 34-year old father of four works selling vegetables and as a moto-taxi driver.

The trauma of an amputation

Abdulrahmam had to undergo emergency surgery and eventually, his arm had to be amputated. After surgery, he met Humanity & Inclusion’s team. We helped him with post-operative care which included bandaging his wound and providing advice about hygiene and wound care. Abdulrahmam received personalized rehabilitation care to strengthen his left arm and gain maximum independence with one hand. He took part in gait training—a type of physical therapy that can help improve a person’s ability to stand and walk. He also received a treatment known as “mirror therapy.”

What is mirror therapy?

“Mirror therapy is the use of a mirror to create the illusion of the presence of an affected limb in order to trick the brain into thinking movement has occurred without pain,” Ahmed, a physical therapist with Humanity & Inclusion explains. “It involves placing the affected limb behind a mirror so that the reflection of the opposing limb appears in place of the hidden limb. It aims to reduce phantom limb pain.”

All the support needed

"At the beginning, I was very scared and I did not know how I could live with only one arm,” Abdulrahmam says. “Then I met with the Humanity & Inclusion team, who reassured me and showed me that many people live a normal life with only one hand. I also benefitted from psychosocial support sessions. All of this helped me to gain strength again."

Back to life

Abdulrahmam continues his steady path to recovery and now has hopes for the future. "I want to go back to my children,” he adds. “The day of my amputation, my wife gave birth. I hope to see my son very soon. I gave him the same name as me. I feel like God sent my son to replace the loss of my arm."

Humanity & Inclusion and the Yemen crisis

Humanity & Inclusion (which operates under the name Handicap International in Yemen) operated in the country from the early 2000s up to 2012, focusing on physical rehabilitation. Since returning in 2014, our mission has grown. Today, we provide direct services to individuals affected by the ongoing conflict, particularly people with disabilities, through rehabilitation care and psychosocial support at eight public health facilities in and around Sana’a city. Learn more about our work and the Yemen crisis.