Yemen: 10 children die from contaminated cancer medication
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Yemen's Health Ministry announces the death of at least 10 children being treated for leukemia in a Sanaa hospital due to contaminated smuggled cancer medication.
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One child remains in critical condition, while another eight are suffering from light complications
At least 10 children with leukemia passed away in a hospital in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa after they were injected with contaminated cancer medicine smuggled from abroad.
The Sanaa government's Health Ministry said in a statement that 19 children in the Kuwait Hospital in Sanaa, being treated for leukemia and with ages ranging between 3 to 15, suffered from complications after they were given medicine that had been smuggled to a privately-owned pharmacy.
The statement also revealed that ten of these children have died as a result, with one still in critical condition and eight others suffering from light complications, clarifying that the hospital's inquiries have revealed that the drug given to the children had bacterial contamination.
According to an official medical source in Sanaa, the drug was past its expiration date, and the children passed away right after being injected. The source also noted that the number could be higher than the one stated by authorities, as there are 50 children in that same ward.
Cancer patients have doubled
Earlier this year, the Sanaa government's Health Minister, Taha Al-Mutawakel, said Yemen's number of cancer patients has doubled as a result of aggressive attacks and the Saudi-led siege on the country.
He explained that more than 60,000 cases of cancer are diagnosed in oncology centers, with a lack of medicine and equipment and the increase in children with leukemia described as alarming.
More than 3,000 children in Yemen are at risk of death due to the blockade and more than 2,000 children with diseases are deprived of necessary care.
The CEO of the Cancer Control Fund in Yemen, Abd Al-Salam Al-Madani, said Yemen is suffering from the emergence of many cases as a result of aggression and the use of prohibited weapons.
He added that the Saudi coalition aggressively continues to prevent entry to atomic scanning devices which can only be reached through Sanaa airport, appealing to the World Health Organization (WHO) to play an active role in providing humanitarian services.
