* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
My country is one where people leave their homes in the morning not knowing whether they will come back safely
I will never forget the first week in May. I was proud to be part of a team going door-to-door delivering trachoma treatments in remote corners of Yemen, in the midst of a complex civil war.
Plane diversions, roadblocks and the death of a rebel leader delayed the arrival of antibiotics into the country; then villagers with good reason to be suspicious of strangers needed to be persuaded to take treatment.
Despite this, we shared drugs, ointments and health advice with 92 percent of the target population we wanted to reach. This could prevent more than 360,000 people from going blind from trachoma.
Much of the country has been torn apart by conflict, particularly areas under control of the Houthi rebels where we were delivering these treatments. Scars show in most aspects of daily life – not least people’s health. Medicines are scarce and health facilities have been damaged and shut down.
The fact the distribution went ahead is as much to do with our determination as anything else
We originally planned to get to these communities in 2015 when a global survey showed more than 2.5 million people in 30 districts were at risk of trachoma. Then civil war broke out.
Times may be hard, but people still need this treatment, even if we have to deliver it amidst armed conflict. Actually, people need it more than ever. Most are desperately short of money and food. This leads to malnutrition, poor living conditions and susceptibility to disease.
There were many obstacles but we overcame them. We have seen another side of conflict – how healthcare can be delivered, even in the most difficult of circumstances.
The best moments for me were seeing families accept antibiotics and knowing the difference they would make. Many faces will stay with me. One of the most memorable was that of five-year old Khalyda.
Khalyda lives in a displacement camp in the Al-Zaidiyah district. Her family had to leave their home on Yemen and Saudi Arabia border three years ago. It had become too dangerous. The camp’s lack of clean water and sanitation are the kind of conditions where trachoma thrives.
Khalyda’s left eyelid had turned completely inwards, she could barely see. Every blink made her eyelashes painfully scratch against her eyeball, causing ulceration which would have eventually made her blind.
She is too young to have such advanced trachoma, and it moved me that as well as being displaced, uncertain about her future, she was living in such pain.
We were able to treat Khalyda with ointment and I will carry out a quick 20 minute surgery to turn her eyelid back the right way again. I am confident her sight can be saved but without access to treatment children like Khalyda will become blind
I feel such pride in my colleagues, the volunteers and others who united to make the seemingly impossible happen.
My country is one where people leave their homes in the morning not knowing whether they will come back safely. Yet despite this, and the fact no-one has been paid a salary for two years, my fellow health workers have stayed in post, working harder, for longer, overcoming problems.
When a high-profile Houthi leader was killed just before the start of the program, travel was suspended. We passed more than 20 roadblocks involving checks and paperwork, through the night, to get to the regions where the people we needed to treat live.
We worked with local mosques to overcome villagers’ suspicions, in addition to leaflets and awareness campaigning.
We were overwhelmed by more than 40,000 volunteers coming forward. Most were local women – chosen because local custom means men are not allowed into many homes.
What was achieved was amazing – but there is still much to be done.
Security issues meant some surveys into the scale of trachoma were put on hold and still need to be finished. Further antibiotic distributions need to happen in other districts. There are also many people who need surgery for advanced trachoma – trichiasis - and funding and support needs to be sought.
Despite all the hardships, people in Yemen are adapting – going to school, to work, carrying on. Regardless of obstacles - so must we.
Dr Tawfik Al-Khatib is National Co-ordinator for prevention of trachoma for the Ministry of Health in Yemen, and Professor of Ophthalmology at Sana’a University in Yemen.
The first trachoma treatments in Yemen were the result of collaboration between the Yemen Ministry of Health, World Health Organization and International Coalition of Trachoma Control (ICTC) members: CBM, The Fred Hollows Foundation (FHF), the International Trachoma Initiative (ITI) and Sightsavers.
