Yemen Laments Resource Shortage, Houthis Threatens Vital Sectors

Yemeni cabinet holding a meeting in Aden on Wednesday (Saba News Agency)
Yemeni cabinet holding a meeting in Aden on Wednesday (Saba News Agency)
TT

Yemen Laments Resource Shortage, Houthis Threatens Vital Sectors

Yemeni cabinet holding a meeting in Aden on Wednesday (Saba News Agency)
Yemeni cabinet holding a meeting in Aden on Wednesday (Saba News Agency)

The Yemeni government acknowledged on Wednesday a critical lack of resources to address crucial expenses, highlighting its dependence on support from allies and friends to uphold economic stability.

Simultaneously, the leader of the Houthi group issued a warning of potential reprisal terrorist attacks targeting key sectors within liberated areas, including oil export ports.

The Yemeni government’s acknowledgment came during a cabinet meeting in Aden, presided over by Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik. This coincided with the ongoing deterioration of the Yemeni rial against hard currencies, as the exchange rate surpassed 1300 rials per US dollar in liberated areas.

According to official media, the cabinet meeting focused on examining the evolving state of affairs and public matters across the nation, encompassing political, military, security, and service-related aspects.

It also conducted a thorough assessment of the progress made in implementing decisions concerning diverse issues and priorities within the government's reform program.

For his part, Abdulmalik reiterated his commitment to “facilitating opportunities for efforts aimed at ending the war.”

He highlighted the extensive concessions made by the government in the ceasefire and de-escalation process, despite bearing significant economic burdens resulting from the terrorist Houthi attacks on the oil sector, their continued looting of revenues, and the deepening suffering of citizens in areas under their control.

Abdulmalik also expressed his concerns about the “financial challenges facing the government in fulfilling its essential commitments, with a decline in public revenues caused by Houthi terrorist attacks targeting oil export ports.”

The premier stated that his government relies on the role of Yemen’s friends and partners, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE at the forefront, to provide urgent support in these exceptional circumstances.

Supporting the government in maintaining economic stability is a fundamental and sustainable approach to addressing and alleviating the humanitarian suffering caused by the terrorist Houthi militia since their coup and initiation of the war in Yemen, emphasized Abdulmalik.

To address the challenges, the prime minister established a committee comprising six ministries and the Central Bank, which will oversee the implementation of an extensive economic, financial, and monetary reform program.

The Yemeni government has suffered significant financial losses due to Houthi attacks on oil export ports since October of last year, resulting in the depletion of a crucial revenue stream for public services and salaries.

In a recent speech on Tuesday, Houthi leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi issued a threat to carry out further attacks against vital targets in liberated areas.



WHO Sends Over 1 Mln Polio Vaccines to Gaza to Protect Children 

Displaced Palestinians, who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, look out from a window as they take shelter, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, July 24, 2024. (Reuters)
Displaced Palestinians, who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, look out from a window as they take shelter, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, July 24, 2024. (Reuters)
TT

WHO Sends Over 1 Mln Polio Vaccines to Gaza to Protect Children 

Displaced Palestinians, who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, look out from a window as they take shelter, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, July 24, 2024. (Reuters)
Displaced Palestinians, who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, look out from a window as they take shelter, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, July 24, 2024. (Reuters)

The World Health Organization is sending more than one million polio vaccines to Gaza to be administered over the coming weeks to prevent children being infected after the virus was detected in sewage samples, its chief said on Friday.

"While no cases of polio have been recorded yet, without immediate action, it is just a matter of time before it reaches the thousands of children who have been left unprotected," Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in an opinion piece in Britain's The Guardian newspaper.

He wrote that children under five were most at risk from the viral disease, and especially infants under two since normal vaccination campaigns have been disrupted by more than nine months of conflict.

Poliomyelitis, which is spread mainly through the fecal-oral route, is a highly infectious virus that can invade the nervous system and cause paralysis. Cases of polio have declined by 99% worldwide since 1988 thanks to mass vaccination campaigns and efforts continue to eradicate it completely.

Israel's military said on Sunday it would start offering the polio vaccine to soldiers serving in the Gaza Strip after remnants of the virus were found in test samples in the enclave.

Besides polio, the UN reported last week a widespread increase in cases of Hepatitis A, dysentery and gastroenteritis as sanitary conditions deteriorate in Gaza, with sewage spilling into the streets near some camps for displaced people.