Brain drain leaves Yemen’s health sector in shambles and millions helpless | Health Issues

Taiz, Yemen Ahmed Nagi, a Yemeni man in his 50s, worked as a porter for more than 30 years at al-Turbah market in Taiz district before the disaster.

By helping shoppers carry goods from the markets to their cars, he earned enough money to support his family of seven. But all that changed two years ago, when he had a liver problem, which left him to continue his work.

Now, Nagi cannot walk without a cane, which she relies on every time she leaves the house. Since he is unemployed, he can no longer afford the medication he needs to take to cure his illness.

“I was told by doctors, who are not liver specialists, that my liver is not working properly, but they did not know if it was a serious problem. It has made me unable to walk, and sometimes I cannot move,” Nagi told Al Jazeera English.

He said: “Generous people gave me medicine for several months, but I have not recovered, and my health is getting worse every day.”

Coming from a poor family, Nagi was able to get treatment at a local hospital, but was told that in order to cure his condition, he needed to get specialized treatment at the hospital in the capital city of Sanaa, or Aden.

For a person who depends on the help of others to put food on their table, paying for medical care in another state is impossible.

“Traveling to Aden or Sanaa requires a lot of money, and I have no job. But I pray to God every day and hope that someone will help me to be better one day,” he added.

Yemen has a severe shortage of health workers, with 18 percent of governments across the country lacking doctors. According to The World Health Organization (WHO). Many of the country’s health professionals left Yemen long ago, seeking better opportunities abroad.

Yemenis who can afford medical treatment abroad now travel to Egypt, Jordan, India and other countries for treatment. Those without money have no choice but to seek treatment at home – but nearly 12 years of war and other crises have seen a brain drain from Yemen, destroying the country’s health sector.

Losing an eye, endangering others

Taha Nabil, 45, from the al-Shimayateen district of Taiz district, has suffered from an infection in his right eye, and like Nagi, he could not get proper treatment in his community.

Since there was no ophthalmologist working nearby, he was able to save enough money to undergo eye surgery in Taiz, but even then he had to suffer from a stroke.

“I thought the surgery would be straightforward, and I didn’t hesitate to do it, but later I regretted it,” Nabil told Al Jazeera. Before the operation, I could not see clearly, but after that I lost my vision in the eye.”

After seeking treatment for her cataracts, she is now looking for an eye doctor to restore her right eye, but finding the right eye specialist and the $4,000 co-pay for the treatment proves to be a difficult task.

“I don’t know of any Yemeni doctor who can really help me, and seeking the right treatment costs a lot of money these days,” added Nabil. “Before 2015, there were doctors who could treat this, but most of them left the country, leaving patients without proper treatment.”

With proper medical treatment impossible, Nabil has no choice but to adapt to daily life with the use of only one eye.

“Ophthalmologists have warned me that my left eye may also see properly if I don’t get the right treatment, but this is out of my hands.”

Brain drain

The impact of this country’s health care has been huge. Today, the number of doctors in Yemen represents only 0.1 doctors per 1,000 people, According to World Bank, significantly lower than the regional average of 1.1. In comparison, the global average is 1.9, with the Arab world ranking at 1.2. Some fragile, conflict-affected areas average about 0.5.

Driven by years of war and severe funding cuts, the collapse of Yemen’s health care system has left at least 20 million Yemenis – nearly half the population – without access to health care. About half of the hospitals are not working, which is preventing the country from fighting diseases like cholera and diphtheria.

Dr Ismail al-Hamoudi, deputy director of the Public Health and Population Office in Taiz province, said the severe shortage of medical personnel has greatly hindered access to essential health care for thousands of people.

“Approximately 41 percent of medical workers in Taiz have fled their homes or left the rest of the country.” This has put a lot of pressure on the remaining medical staff who are trying to manage their work,” al-Hamoudi told Al Jazeera.

Dr Abdulkareem Mubarak, the deputy director of the National Program at the Ministry of Health in Aden, said the brain drain of health workers is the main cause of the serious health crisis in Yemen.

“There are many factors contributing to the migration of healthcare workers, low incomes and unequal wages.” Current salaries do not allow medical professionals to take care of their families,” Mubarak told Al Jazeera.

Lack of essential medical supplies, non-functional equipment and frequent power outages have also frustrated health workers, many of whom feel unable to perform their duties effectively under such conditions.

“Although the ministry is unable to pay the high salaries required to ensure qualified professionals to remain in Yemen, it has been working to find other solutions to the problems. This includes partnering with humanitarian organizations to provide financial support for the remaining patients,” said Mubarak.

Hiring foreign doctors

As an emergency measure and to fill critical and specialized medical gaps, hospitals have begun recruiting foreign doctors, including Syrians.

“Recruiting foreign workers is not the solution, because it is very expensive, but it helps to fill the void and allows the transfer of knowledge from foreign medical professionals to their Yemeni counterparts,” said Mubarak.

On June 12, two Syrian doctors, Samer Ahmed Hassan and his wife Dr Samaher al-Mousa, were caught in the crossfire and died when a gunman opened fire on security guards at the governor’s house in Aden.

Surprisingly, despite tight security, Syrian doctors continue to arrive in Yemen, working in public and private hospitals across the country.

Dr Ahmed, a Syrian orthopedic specialist working in the Taiz government, who wanted to use a pseudonym for security reasons, said the brain issues in Yemen were one of the reasons he left Syria for the country three years ago.

“I heard about the severe shortage of medical workers in Yemen, so I was eager to come and help Yemenis with the medical care they need so much,” he told Al Jazeera.

Although the influx of foreign doctors is easing the pressure on Yemeni medical professionals, it is not enough to significantly lower medical costs, and doctors are still working hard. Ahmed said he is performing about ten major surgeries a month, exceeding the number of surgeries the doctor can handle.

Despite the instability, Ahmed says he has no intention of joining the hundreds of other Syrian doctors seeking work in Europe and the Gulf.

Nabil, who lost sight in his right eye, said he had heard of a Syrian doctor who could treat his condition, but a lack of specialists meant the cost would be more than he could afford.

“It seems that there are Syrian ophthalmologists who can help me, but I can’t afford the cost of surgery,” said Nabil.