SANAA, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- Abeer Sadeq, four-year-old Yemeni girl, often has to wait for hours at the crowded Children's Leukemia Treatment Center in Sanaa to receive the chemotherapy since she was diagnosed with leukemia several months ago.
"My daughter's illness appeared six months ago when we noticed a yellowing appeared on her face. We brought her here and the doctors diagnosed her with blood cancer," said Abeer's father Sadeq Al-Sabahi, who is a daily-wage worker.
"Like all others, we suffer in this deteriorated situation. Many (cancer) patients' families suffer a lack of medicines and money. We don't have many options," the father added.
For children who battle cancer, life here can be ruthless. Nearly six years of war and blockade have plunged Yemen deep into one of the world's worst humanitarian crises and left millions without health care. Cancer patients, including children, often have to wait in long lines and travel miles to get their vital treatment.
The Houthi-controlled health ministry in Sanaa said that the death rate of leukemia patients increased to nearly 50 percent because of the scarcity of medical staff, medicines, and equipment.
The treatment center in Sanaa is the only specialized hospital for children inflicted with blood diseases. Now, it is in dire need of medicines and other supplies as the blockade cut the support from humanitarian organizations outside the country.
"We are in an acute shortage of medicines because of the blockade. We have to call for the people to donate and help patients with leukemia and other blood diseases," Abdul-Rahman Al-Hadi, a hematologist at the center, told Xinhua.
Patients with deadly diseases were the most affected by the civil war, the doctor said, noting that many cancer patients could not afford skyrocketing medical bills or have no access to medical treatment at all.
Yemen has been mired in civil war since late 2014 when the Houthi rebels seized control of several northern provinces and forced the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.
The war has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 4 million, and pushed the country to the brink of famine. Enditem
