The long-running civil war in Yemen may be slowing down, but people continue arriving at a prosthetics clinic in Taiz, underscoring the lasting impact of the conflict.
Personal impact: Shaimaa Ali Ahmed, a 12-year-old girl, is one civilian living with the war’s fallout.
* Shaimaa lost her leg in 2017 when she found an unexploded rocket while playing outside.
* Due to her age and small size, she has quickly adapted to life with a prosthetic leg, despite its limitations.
* Shaimaa expresses fear of being outdoors but maintains hope for the end of the war and for rebuilding Yemen.
The war’s toll: The war, which began in 2014, has left about 2 million land mines scattered throughout the country.
* Thousands of Yemenis have been killed by Houthi rockets and Saudi-led airstrikes.
* In the severely affected area of Taiz, traveling from one side to another requires navigating precarious mountain roads, heavily littered with Houthi mines.
Enduring needs: Dr. Mansour al-Wazi’iy, the director of the prosthetic center, reported receiving 400 new cases of amputations in the first half of this year, over 100 of which were children.
* Despite calming tensions and reduced fighting due to negotiations in 2022, the needs of the Yemeni population remain high, according to Mariam Adnan from Save the Children.
* In 2022, even during a ceasefire, a child was injured or killed by land mines every two days, the highest rate in five years.
* Alongside the physical demand for prosthetics, there’s a need for widespread mental support for victims of the war, according to al-Wazi’iy.
Barriers: A collapsed health system, a severe shortage in international humanitarian aid, and blockades all complicate providing the necessary help.
* Adnan reports that many children injured by explosives often die before they can receive care.
* The shortage in aid, according to the United Nations, has made it considerably harder to provide the urgent help that victims require.
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