Qatar Red Crescent Society comes to rescue of newborns in Yemen

DOHA: Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) is providing cerebrospinal fluid collection machines for infants with hydrocephalus in Yemen at a cost of $120,000 (QR436,800).

The initiative aims to reduce the mortality rate from hydrocephalus, mitigate its complications, improve the well-being of patients to enable them to live normally, help poor families with hydrocephalic members, and promote solidarity and compassion in society.

QRCS personnel in Yemen purchased 430 machines through Charitable Society for Social Welfare (CSSW) and signed an agreement with Handicapped Welfare and Rehabilitation Fund (HWRF), a government entity, to perform implantations for free. Targeting 430 babies over one year, the first batch of 100 machines were delivered in March-May and the second batch of 100 this month by a group of QRCS, CSSW and HWRF, said a statement.

Mohamed Al Dailami, CEO, HWRF, welcomed QRCS and praised its humanitarian role in the war-torn country. “This appreciated contribution will greatly help reduce disabilities and save the lives of 430 newborns,” he said

“QRCS has a prominent role in various aspects of humanitarian relief across Yemen. We in CSSW are proud of being a partner with QRCS in many projects, which have a positive impact on the beneficiaries and society at large,” said Dr. Abdel-Wasei Al-Wasiei, Director-General, CSSW.

The parents were happy to see their babies saved by virtue of these life-saving machines. “I would like to thank QRCS for its humanitarian support of hydrocephalic patients,” said Nabil A Abdo, father of Maram (Taiz).

“I am happy to see my daughter smiling again, after she had been crying all the time out of pain.”

Mohamed J Ahmed, father of Atef (Imran), mumbled, “I owe the benevolent donators a big favour. May God protect them and their children. I hope that this project will continue to save every baby in this country”.

WASH project for Syrians

QRCS has implemented a project to provide basic services for ‘Qushtapa’ Syrian Refugee Camp in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan.

The project, ‘Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH)’ cost over $2.2m of which 60 percent was contributed by United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) and 40 percent by QRCS.

The project aimed to improve the living conditions of Syrian refugees in Erbil by building 696 toilets, sanitary facilities and a sewage network throughout the camp and launching awareness campaigns to enhance personal hygiene.

The established sewage network is safe, integrated and environment-friendly and will serve up to 3,480 Syrians in Blocks B and C of the camp.

Located about 20km away from the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, Qushtapa is a small camp with 892 tents, hosting around 5,300 refugees, mostly women and children.

QRCS and Unicef have worked together on several projects for Syrian refugees in Iraqi Kurdistan. The projects costing $2.3m (QR8.5m) aimed to improve their conditions inside refugee camps until they can be repatriated. QRCS personnel in Iraq are preparing for the Ramadan Iftar project in cooperation with Iraqi Red Crescent Society. Food packages will be delivered to 3,500 poor families in displaced Iraqi camps across the governorates of Baghdad (500), Erbil (700), Sulaymaniyah (500), Dahuk (1,500), and Kirkuk (300).

The Peninsula