Minister of Public Health and Population Ahmed Al-Ansi said on Tuesday that the state of Yemen’s health sector was "miserable."

In a presentation delivered to the NDC’s Development Working Group, he said that Yemen generally loses a number of its trained medical personnel when they travel to work abroad. 

“The ministry’s budget is insufficient and if this problem continues, the medical field’s situation will be yet worse in the future,” said Al-Ansi.

“Among the challenges we are facing are problems carried by African refugees who continue to arrive in Yemen, and mostly from Somalia, where reports indicate that poliomyelitis is widespread,” he added.

Al-Ansi also criticized Yemeni health associations, saying that many are corrupt and solely devoted to serving themselves.

Other officials from the Public Health and Population Ministry delivered presentations on challenges facing the health sector, including insufficient trained medical workers and inequalities concerning the distribution of medical personnel across Yemen.

The officials called for increased support for medical institutes, to enable them to develop improved training programs and curricula.