‘No oxygen to keep babies warm’: Newborns at risk as fuel shortage hits Yemen’s Taiz

A severe fuel shortage in Yemen’s besieged city of Taiz has brought hospitals to the brink of collapse, as weeks of fighting between the country's Houthi rebels and the Saudi-led coalition have disrupted vital supplies and worsened the humanitarian crisis, affecting hundreds of thousands of people.One hospital has been forced to reduce the number of incubators in operation from 40 to just 10, putting the lives of newborn babies at risk.“There’s no oxygen, there’s no fuel to run the incubators, to keep the babies warm,” Reuters quoted Nada Ahmed, a nurse at the Yemeni-Swedish Maternity and Childhood Hospital, as saying.Another staff member, Nawal Najeeb, warned that a “catastrophe” could unfold if fuel supplies fail to arrive.“It will be a catastrophe for the babies, a catastrophe of deaths and disabilities,” Najeeb warned.According to World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson Christian Lindmeier, 42 health facilities in Taiz are facing severe shortages of fuel, oxygen, medicines and other medical supplies.Fuel prices in the city have also soared to 2,000 Yemeni rials per litre, further straining access to essential resources.Child malnutrition worsensUN agencies and aid organisa...