Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Israeli media: For the first time, Prime Minister Netanyahu is signaling that he wants to end the war on Gaza
Israeli Channel 12, citing an American source: We want to have entered a path toward captive release and a ceasefire before Netanyahu arrives in Washington
Lebanese Ministry of Health: One martyr and two injured in the Israeli airstrike that targeted a motorcycle in the town of Mahrouna
Al Mayadeen correspondent to Southern Lebanon: An Israeli drone strike targeted a vehicle between the towns of Jwayya and Mahrouna.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: One martyred in the Israeli drone strike on a car in the town of Kawnin
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: Israeli drone targets a car in the town of Kawnin
Naeini: If our national interests are attacked again, our response this time will be stronger and more destructive
Naeini: The war has proven that the settlers are defenseless against Iranian missile and drone forces
Naeini: Trump lacks an understanding of the true strength of the Iranian people and is so deluded as to believe he can change the reality of Iran's victory
Naeini: The defeat led to Trump's confusion and loss of balance, which was reflected in his ill-considered statements

US-Saudi aggression responsible for death of children with leukemia

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: News websites
  • 20 Oct 2022 12:27
3 Min Read

Yemeni officials hold the Saudi-led coalition's blockade of Yemen responsible for the tragic death of over 18 children injected with expired cancer medicine.

  • x
  • The children were receiving treatment for leukemia at a hospital under Saudi blockade . (AFP)
    The children were receiving treatment for leukemia at a hospital under a Saudi blockade. (AFP)

At least 10 children with leukemia passed away in a hospital in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa last Friday after they were injected with contaminated cancer medicine smuggled from abroad.

Commenting on this tragedy, the head of the Salvation Government in Sanaa, Abdulaziz bin Habtoor, described the deaths of the children as a national disaster, holding the US-Saudi aggression responsible.

“Laboratory tests showed the presence of high-risk bacterial contamination in the batch of medicine given to children with leukemia, and investigations are being followed up by the highest levels in the country,” Health Minister Taha Al-Mutawakel said.

He stated that the Ministry of Health sent memos to the UN Assistant Secretary-General and the World Health Organization's representative, urging them to send a number of medical supplies that are currently unavailable in the country for the treatment of leukemia.

Dr. Anis Al-Asbahi, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, has also blamed the US-Saudi aggression for the deterioration of the Yemeni people's health as a result of the blockade and restrictions on the entry of medicines and medical supplies.

Related News

Biden diagnosed with 'aggressive' prostate cancer

Senate report reveals Trump slashed cancer research by 31%

"The disaster that claimed the lives of children in Kuwait Hospital is a result of the blockade and the failure to open Sana'a International Airport as required," he said.

"The cause of the disaster in Kuwait Hospital was a contaminated batch that was smuggled after the stocks of oncological medicine were depleted from the warehouses of the Ministry of Health and the National Center for Oncology," he stressed.

It is worth noting that the Sanaa government's Health Ministry announced in a statement last Friday 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.

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.

  • Saudi-led coalition
  • Yemeni Crisis
  • Yemen
  • war on Yemen
  • Yemen blockade
  • Cancer

Most Read

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attends a protest following the US attacks on nuclear sites in Iran, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 22, 2025. (AP)

Iran declares victory as ceasefire forces Israeli retreat

  • Politics
  • 24 Jun 2025
Israeli workers survey the site where a missile launched from Iran struck in Haifa on Sunday, June 22, 2025. (AP)

True Promise 3, wave 20: 40 missiles launched, Kheibar-Shekan in first

  • Politics
  • 22 Jun 2025
Iran launches strikes on Israeli targets, despite alleged ceasefire

Iran victorious as ceasefire with 'Israel' takes effect

  • Politics
  • 24 Jun 2025
Iranian worshippers carry their country's flags in a protest to condemn Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, after the Friday prayers ceremony in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 20, 2025. (AP)

Iran warns of NPT withdrawal, Strait of Hormuz closure after US attack

  • Politics
  • 22 Jun 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
In this June, 12, 2021, file photo, former Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani sits in a meeting in Tehran, Iran.
Politics

Iran strategically foiled Israeli-US scheme, Advisor Shamkhani says

Sheikh Naim
MENA

Let no one think they can subjugate Hezbollah: Sheikh Qassem

Screengrab from a video published by the al-Qassam Brigades shows confrontations with the Israeli occupation forces in Gaza, undated (Al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)
Politics

Al-Qassam releases video of deadly ambush with Israeli forces in Gaza

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General, Rafael Grossi, attends an IAEA Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, Austria, Monday, June 23, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Iran bars IAEA chief Grossi from nuclear facility inspections

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS