無國界醫生／葉門霍亂爆發恐不受控！MSF籲醫療物資協助

圖、文／無國界醫生（MSF）
 
鍳於葉門全國的霍亂和急性水性腹瀉個案增加，國際醫療人道救援組織無國界醫生警告，疫情恐怕會不受控制，要求盡快作出適切回應。

根據世界衛生組織，疑似個案在上星期內增加一倍以上，由5月14日的11,000起，增加至5月19日的超過23,500起。葉門公共衛生和人口部門指出，疫情已蔓延至葉門22個省份內的其中18個。

無國界醫生團隊在阿母蘭（Amran）、荷台達（Houdaydah）、哈佳（Hajja）、扎萊（Al Dhale）、塔伊茲（Taiz）和伊布（Ibb）省內的四間霍亂治療中心和九個霍亂治療單位，共治療了3,092名病人，未來幾天，團隊會將運送超過63噸的物資至葉門。

無國界醫生在葉門的項目總管沙爾（Ghassan Abou Chaar）說：「疫情迅速蔓延，令人極度憂慮。」他說：「霍亂爆發前，這裡的醫療系統已承受巨大壓力，人們的醫療需求已經很龐大。單單治療到得了醫療設施的病人，並不足以控制疫情。我們需要處理疾病的源頭，透過改善水利衛生與在社區工作，以避免出現新增個案。」 

葉門的戰事在2015年3月升級，對該國本已脆弱的醫療系統造成嚴重影響，很多醫療設施不再運作。那裡也欠缺藥物，包括治療霍亂必需的靜脈注射和口服電解質補充液。 

治療病人的工作也受人手短缺所限制。葉門的醫護人員自2016年9月起拿不到薪水，很多人因此需要找其他工作養活家庭。與此同時，局勢不穩亦阻礙人道組織到達部分受影響地區。 

無國界醫生要求有關當局協助將醫療物資輸入葉門，以及向葉門醫護人員給予經濟誘因以繼續工作。無國界醫生同時促請衝突各方，確保醫療和人道救援人員能夠進入受影響地區，以運作醫療設施、治療病人以及控制疫情。

無國界醫生是國際醫療人道救援組織，在全球近70個國家工作，葉門是其中之一。在葉門，無國界醫生團隊在11個省份，共13間醫院直接向病人提供醫療照護，並另外支援超過25間醫院。

PRESS RELEASE: 22nd, May. 2017

Yemen: Cholera outbreak threatens to get out of control

As cases of cholera and acute watery diarrhea rise across Yemen, international medical organisation Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warns that the outbreak is threatening to get out of control and calls for an urgent and appropriate response.

The number of suspected cases has more than doubled in the past week, from 11,000 on 14 May to more than 23,500 on 19 May, according to World Health Organization figures. The disease has now spread across 18 of Yemen’s 22 governorates, according to Yemen’s Ministry of Public Health and Population.

MSF teams have treated 3,092 patients in 4 cholera treatment centres and 9 cholera treatment units in the governorates of Amran, Houdaydah, Hajja, Al Dhale, Taiz and Ibb. They are expecting a delivery of more than 63 tons of supplies to arrive in Yemen in the coming days.

“The fast spread of the current outbreak is extremely alarming,” says Ghassan Abou Chaar, MSF’s head of mission in Yemen. “Before the outbreak, the health system was already overstretched and people’s health needs were already huge. To bring the outbreak under control, it won’t be enough simply to treat those people who reach medical facilities. We also need to address the source of the disease, by improving water and sanitation and working in communities to prevent new cases.”

The war in Yemen, which escalated in March 2015, has had a serious impact on the country’s already weak health system. Many health facilities no longer function, and there are shortages of medications, including intravenous fluids and oral rehydration salts, both essential for the treatment of cholera. 

Efforts to treat patients are also hampered by staff shortages. Medical staff in Yemen have received no salaries since September 2016, and many have been obliged to find other types of work to support their families. Meanwhile, insecurity hampers the ability of aid organisations to reach some of the affected areas. 

MSF calls for imports of medical supplies into Yemen to be facilitated, and for Yemeni medical staff to be paid incentives so that they can carry out their work. MSF also calls on all parties to the conflict to ensure that medical and humanitarian workers are able to reach the affected areas in order to run medical facilities, treat patients and bring the outbreak under control.

MSF is an international medical humanitarian organisation working in nearly 70 countries in the world, including Yemen. In Yemen, MSF teams are directly providing healthcare to patients in 13 hospitals and supporting more than 25 hospitals in 11 Yemeni governorates.