Seven-week-old twins Raghad and Raad Hassan are in a desperate fight for survival, born into the escalating conflict in Yemen. Their premature arrival coincided with intense fighting between Houthi rebels and government forces, forcing their family to flee their mountain village amid air attacks. The family of seven endured a three-day trek to the port city of Aden, with limited transportation options and facing refusal from many.
Their father, Bajash Ali Sagir Hassan, described the journey as arduous, with only one person offering them a ride on the fourth day. During the flight, the twins weakened, suffering from exacerbated vomiting and diarrhea, according to their mother, Lina. Upon arrival at al-Sadaqah hospital in Aden, the infants were critically malnourished, described by a doctor as "just skin and bone."
Raad, the more severely ill twin, exhibited visible ribs and labored breathing. His father noted that while the twins were fed twice daily, the soaring price of baby milk due to the war sometimes meant they only received water. The diagnosis for both was severe acute malnutrition, a condition as life-threatening as a bullet wound.
Malnutrition in Yemen is a critical issue amplified by the ongoing civil war. The United Nations reports that the collapse of an informal ceasefire has led to approximately 800,000 people being unable to receive essential aid and over 250,000 people displaced in recent months. The Houthis' advance along the Red Sea coast has also led to the isolation of Taiz, Yemen's third-largest city, where civilians are reportedly at grave risk and facing food shortages due to rising prices.
The hospital's malnutrition unit, despite its limited capacity of 13 patients at a time due to funding, staff, and equipment shortages, strives to provide care. Dr. Noor Mohammed highlighted the severe resource limitations, including a lack of essential equipment like ventilation machines and oxygen bottles, which impede their ability to treat critical cases. She lamented that patients are sometimes lost due to these conditions.
Families like Bajash's are caught between the conflict and extreme poverty. Bajash, a shepherd who lost his flock when fleeing, now struggles to provide for his three older children, who have been sleeping on the street outside the hospital. The twins, sharing a single bed, are being fed fortified milk, but Raad struggles to keep it down. Lina expressed a quiet hope for her children's recovery, saying, "God willing."
Dr. Mohammed noted the cyclical nature of the crisis, with severely ill children returning to the hospital shortly after discharge because their parents cannot afford proper nutrition, vitamins, or antibiotics. She emphasized that these families depend entirely on the hospital due to their inability to afford private care. Many parents, like Bajash, are fleeing both war and poverty, their children bearing the invisible wounds of a conflict that threatens to scar a generation.