Dr. Alwali has informed me that one of your
team representatives had met with him and they had a very positive
meeting (his original message is below). Therefore, thank you for
promptly investigating any grievances.
We truly appreciate your continuous support for the Yemeni people.
Kind regards,
Omran
Received: May 24, 2015
Dear Dr Al-Salahi,
First of all, I would like to thank you for you email of 19.05 alerting the ICRC on report received from Dr. Abdul-Nasser Al-Wali in Aden.
My name is Antoine Grand I have replace Cedric Schweizer as Head of Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Yemen 2 weeks ago.
We were equally concerned by the report Dr Al-Wali describing his discussions with the ICRC team in Aden, especially as we have always maintained fruitful relationships with him, especially since the beginning of the current crisis.
As you may know, the ICRC was working in Al-Jumorhia hospital during the month of April until we were forced to evacuate due to the dramatic deterioration of the security situation in the area. The ICRC has however not left Aden. On the contrary, our teams have continued work around the clock to address the urgent needs of the population, not only in the field of health, but also in terms of water, food and protection.
In addition to its regular emergency medical support to hospitals and clinics in and around Aden, the ICRC has recently identified a Primary Health Centre in Al-Mansura district, next to 22 May Hospital, where we could re-deploy our surgical team. It is with this objective in mind that the ICRC has been seeking advise from all key stakeholders in Aden, including Dr Al-Wali. The meeting referred in your message was chaired by Dr. Al-Wali himself who has accepted and supported ICRC proposal for this new project.
Yesterday, our colleagues in Aden have met again with Dr. Al-Wali in order to discuss his concern and clarify any possible misunderstanding. Dr Al-Wali told us that his report was not meant to criticise or discredit ICRC work in Aden, but to stress the dire situation faced by the Health authorities in Aden who feel increasingly challenged in their capacity to meet the basic health needs of the population. He expressed appreciation about ICRC willingness to help and support the Health authorities in their daunting tasks, but also stressed the urgent need to receive more support from abroad.
The ICRC, present on the ground, is acutely aware of the enormous humanitarian needs in Aden and in Yemen in general, and the gap between the humanitarian response and those needs. The ICRC is doing its best to respond to those needs, in very difficult circumstances. In doing, close coordination with local health authorities is of utmost importance and the ICRC will continue to engage actively with them, including of course Dr Al-Wali, who has always been supportive of our work.
It is also important for us to be able to correct and clarify, bilaterally, any misperception or misunderstanding that may arise from our presence and activities in Aden. I am therefore grateful that you have brought this issue to my attention. Please, do not hesitate to continue doing so in the future.
Thanking you for you support,
Your sincerely,
Antoine Grand
Head of Delegation
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
Sana’a - Yemen
Sent: May 19, 2015
Schweizer Cedric,
We are writing to inform you that we have recently received a report from Dr. AbdulNasser Alwali (+967733791544), who is the Chairman of the Higher Medical Public Committee in Aden (HMPCA), detailing his experience with the ICRC team in Aden (attached their names and numbers on this email). And we are concerned!
I have translated his message (received May 16, 2015; via “WhatsApp”), which describes his recent encounter with the team at May 22nd Hospital (for the original message in Arabic see below):
Moreover, we suggest that you get in direct contact with Dr. Alwali to discuss his full concerns because the message that we are getting from these report is that they are intentionally avoiding to provide any relief to the health facilities in Aden. Again, for whatever reason this maybe, we will wait for your investigation before making any assumptions.
And this is the link to the committee Facebook page which post updates on the health situation from the perspective of the local health officials there: https://www.facebook.com/hmpcaden
Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Yours Respectfully,
Omran Alsalahi
M.D. candidate at Eastern Virginia Medical School
M.S. in Biomedical Sciences
Graduate Certificate in Global Medicine
330.221.0063
Alsalaoh@evms.edu
Omran
5/23/15, 10:29:49 AM: د. عبد الناصر الوالي: السلام عليكم. اليوم زارني ممثل الصليب الأحمر في عدن السيد بيرتراند لآمون. وكان لقاء ايجابي جداً تم فيه توضيح وجهات النظر. السيد برتراند كان متفهم جدا. ووصلنا الى تفاهم نتمنئ ان ينتج عنه تعاون مثمر.
Received: May 24, 2015
Dear Dr Al-Salahi,
First of all, I would like to thank you for you email of 19.05 alerting the ICRC on report received from Dr. Abdul-Nasser Al-Wali in Aden.
My name is Antoine Grand I have replace Cedric Schweizer as Head of Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Yemen 2 weeks ago.
We were equally concerned by the report Dr Al-Wali describing his discussions with the ICRC team in Aden, especially as we have always maintained fruitful relationships with him, especially since the beginning of the current crisis.
As you may know, the ICRC was working in Al-Jumorhia hospital during the month of April until we were forced to evacuate due to the dramatic deterioration of the security situation in the area. The ICRC has however not left Aden. On the contrary, our teams have continued work around the clock to address the urgent needs of the population, not only in the field of health, but also in terms of water, food and protection.
In addition to its regular emergency medical support to hospitals and clinics in and around Aden, the ICRC has recently identified a Primary Health Centre in Al-Mansura district, next to 22 May Hospital, where we could re-deploy our surgical team. It is with this objective in mind that the ICRC has been seeking advise from all key stakeholders in Aden, including Dr Al-Wali. The meeting referred in your message was chaired by Dr. Al-Wali himself who has accepted and supported ICRC proposal for this new project.
Yesterday, our colleagues in Aden have met again with Dr. Al-Wali in order to discuss his concern and clarify any possible misunderstanding. Dr Al-Wali told us that his report was not meant to criticise or discredit ICRC work in Aden, but to stress the dire situation faced by the Health authorities in Aden who feel increasingly challenged in their capacity to meet the basic health needs of the population. He expressed appreciation about ICRC willingness to help and support the Health authorities in their daunting tasks, but also stressed the urgent need to receive more support from abroad.
The ICRC, present on the ground, is acutely aware of the enormous humanitarian needs in Aden and in Yemen in general, and the gap between the humanitarian response and those needs. The ICRC is doing its best to respond to those needs, in very difficult circumstances. In doing, close coordination with local health authorities is of utmost importance and the ICRC will continue to engage actively with them, including of course Dr Al-Wali, who has always been supportive of our work.
It is also important for us to be able to correct and clarify, bilaterally, any misperception or misunderstanding that may arise from our presence and activities in Aden. I am therefore grateful that you have brought this issue to my attention. Please, do not hesitate to continue doing so in the future.
Thanking you for you support,
Your sincerely,
Antoine Grand
Head of Delegation
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
Sana’a - Yemen
Sent: May 19, 2015
Schweizer Cedric,
We are writing to inform you that we have recently received a report from Dr. AbdulNasser Alwali (+967733791544), who is the Chairman of the Higher Medical Public Committee in Aden (HMPCA), detailing his experience with the ICRC team in Aden (attached their names and numbers on this email). And we are concerned!
I have translated his message (received May 16, 2015; via “WhatsApp”), which describes his recent encounter with the team at May 22nd Hospital (for the original message in Arabic see below):
"Yesterday, I had a meeting with the Red Cross. We agreed for them to work in a building complex that belongs to the May 22nd Hospital (located behind), but only after difficult terms: to clear a group of post-operative patients who were placed there (sleeping on the ground in the complex) because the hospital is currently overwhelmed; to equip a fully operational surgical room (If we could we would have already used the room ourselves in these difficult times); to link the hospital's main electrical generator to the rooms; and the provision of thirty bedsFurthermore, last month (April 19th) we were informed by Dr. Alwai that the Red Cross were being pressured by the Houthi militias into not delivering any relief to the public health facilities in Aden. Now we are not sure what is going on the ground there, however, we would like you to investigate this as soon as possible.
Despite the provocation in these conditions we agreed that we will try as much as we can; however, we proposed for them to also procure anything they need from the Al-Jumhooria Hospital (Khormakser district), which they were working in and is now closed and under the control of the Houthi militias–they said they will look into it.
Another condition was to work with the same team that they had worked with in Al-Jumhooria , prior to its closure!!! Our response, was that we will provide any specialized team of their choosing from May 22nd hospital, however, the previous team (from the Al-Jumhooria hospital) have relocated to work in the Saddyka Hospital (Unity Hospital; Sheikh Othman district).
Lastly, they decided to give the new team who will work with them, a salary of 30-70 dollars per day. Considering that we pay some of our crew 5-10 dollars per day, we asked if they could reduce their salary payments, to even out our staffs incentives to work and prevent the disruption of workflow, which already is barely stable. They were shocked to hear the amount that we pay, requesting that we should raise the salaries our staff. Now, we are a public committee that started fifty-days ago and we are yet to receive any financial support both regionally and internationally. We have been functioning simply from the support we receive internally, that is public donations which have been directed solely for purchasing essential medicine/supplies and to keep the hospitals and clinics operational. Therefore, we don't have the financial means to raise the salaries of our staff. Ultimately, we leave it for them to decide. We have offered everything we have to offer, including but not limited to: a medical staff, a health facility with the needed medical equipments to work; more importantly, everything within our hands are at their disposal for the desperately needed assistance.”
Moreover, we suggest that you get in direct contact with Dr. Alwali to discuss his full concerns because the message that we are getting from these report is that they are intentionally avoiding to provide any relief to the health facilities in Aden. Again, for whatever reason this maybe, we will wait for your investigation before making any assumptions.
And this is the link to the committee Facebook page which post updates on the health situation from the perspective of the local health officials there: https://www.facebook.com/hmpcaden
Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Yours Respectfully,
Omran Alsalahi
M.D. candidate at Eastern Virginia Medical School
M.S. in Biomedical Sciences
Graduate Certificate in Global Medicine
330.221.0063
Alsalaoh@evms.edu
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