Since its coup against the regime and the legitimate authority, the Houthi coup militia has been working to destroy the state in its various sectors, which has led to a negative impact on the Yemenis in various aspects of life, which has led to the expansion of the area of poverty, the spread of diseases and epidemics, and the emergence of many of them again, which Yemen had announced its complete elimination of years ago, such as polio and others.

The militia was not satisfied with this, but rather worked to exploit the suffering of patients by closing and confiscating institutions that were supporting people in the medical field, in addition to confiscating and trading in free medicines provided by humanitarian organizations, and trying to monopolize the pharmaceutical sector by striving to transform this sector into private investment to this militia and its leaders.

In this report, we will try to recall the Houthi crime by trading in the suffering of patients in various aspects and the effects that this trading left behind, such as increasing death rates, worsening poverty, deteriorating psychological situation of citizens, shortage of medical supplies, and deteriorating infrastructure of this sector as a result of the militia’s containment of many medical institutions and control them in the various areas under its control.

Also, in this report, we will touch briefly on the real goals of the Houthi militia’s confiscation of medicines provided free of charge to patients in areas under its control, and the motives behind this tragedy, which resulted in dozens of civilian casualties, the majority of whom are women and children.

Preventing the distribution of insulin medications:

In this regard, diabetics in Ibb Governorate complained that the Houthi militia has been stopping the disbursement of their shares of insulin treatment provided by international organizations for three months, at a time when dozens of diabetics from low-income groups are flocking to the health office in the Governorate in order to getting insulin medicine, but the militia refuses to give them on the pretext that these medications did not arrive from Sanaa.

According to identical sources, the Houthi militia in Ibb Governorate justifies the lack of access to treatment because it did not have the value of renting the transport truck amounting to 200 thousand riyals, at a time when patients doubt the Houthi story, especially with the huge financial levies that the militia continuously imposes on private hospitals and facilities, as well as the office budget and support provided by organizations.

On the other hand, medical sources reported that the militia leaders justify this by not having a budget to receive and transport it, while seeking to delay its receipt and then manipulate it and sell it in private pharmacies and trade in it, whereas the militia sells humanitarian and medical aid, manipulates it and deprives those who deserve theme.

This comes at a time when diabetic patients in Yemen suffer from their inability to pay for medicine. Estimates indicate that there are more than one and a half million diabetics in Yemen, while the International Committee of the Red Cross describes the situation by saying that diabetics in Yemen live “a matter of life or death in order to obtain insulin.”

In light of the high prices of electricity, which the Houthi militia has privatized, many companies have refrained from importing this medicine, as some specialists point out that the insulin that enters Yemen by land arrives and its effectiveness has ended as a result of poor storage and long transportation times due to the blocking of roads by the Houthi militia and the creation of separatist customs ports, which exacerbated the suffering of patients, because insulin injections require refrigerators, which the majority of Yemeni families are unable to possess.

Stop dispensing medications to cancer patients:

At the same time, health sources confirmed that the Houthi militia in the capital, Sanaa, stopped dispensing some free medicines to cancer patients in the oncology center under their control and forced them to buy them from private companies.

The sources said that the Houthi militia cut off the patients from the medication (Pantoprazole - Vial), usually used before the chemotherapy dose, without giving reasons. The sources indicated that the patients of the oncology center forced the patients to buy a brand called (Medprazole - Vial), belonging to an Indian company, and the price of one vial is 2900, as a condition for obtaining the chemical dose.

According to the sources, if the patient buys an alternative brand, it is rejected by some nurses, knowing that the prices of the alternatives are less than a thousand riyals in commercial pharmacies, while the sources suggested that forcing patients to buy a specific brand comes as a result of an existing relationship between the supplying company and the management of the oncology center, which pays huge commissions to the center for forcefully administering its medications at the expense of patients.

Trafficking in patients' pain:

According to specialists, what was mentioned previously indicates that the Houthi militia is working to traffic in the pain of Yemeni patients by confiscating and selling medicines granted free of charge by organizations, in the context of the coup militia’s tendency to seize control of the medicine market and its keenness not to compete with it in order to be able to sell medicine at excessive prices.

Observers believe that the Houthi militia is keen to monopolize the import of medicines, and restricting it to members close to it has caused many tragedies and victims of citizens. They pointed to the incident of the death of more than 30 children in the Kuwait hospital as a result of being treated with spoiled medicine, and this showed the disastrous results of the Houthi militia authority’s tendency to invest in and trade in patients’ medicine.

Desperate attempts by the Houthi militia to control the medicine market have left many tragedies in terms of providing health care to civilians and opening the door to competition for importers, which has led to a lack of medicines on the one hand and high prices on the other hand, at a time when diseases are spreading among civilian citizens as a result of the Houthi coup on the state.

The coup carried out by the Houthi militia against the state led to the destruction of the health infrastructure in the country and the destruction of hospitals and medical facilities, some of which were converted into secret prisons and others into closed places to treat their wounded in battles, in addition to the shortage of medical personnel in the country as a result of the migration and displacement carried out by thousands of Yemeni doctors abroad since the Houthi coup against the state.

The Houthi militia’s motives for trafficking in the suffering of patients:

Observers confirm that the Houthi militia seeks to control the pharmaceutical market in the country, and has taken a number of measures that allow it to control the market in order to achieve commercial and ideological profit purposes, which has exacerbated the suffering of sick citizens in the areas controlled by the militia.

In addition to preventing competition and monopoly, the Houthi militia’s tendency to seize control of the pharmaceutical market appears as part of its strategy to control resources and ensure control over medical supplies, which has pushed them towards confiscating free medicines to achieve their goal preventing their competitors, companies and humanitarian organizations, from entering the market and providing competitive services.

In addition, the Houthis’ efforts to control the pharmaceutical market would lead to raising prices to increase their revenues and enhance their financial capabilities, ignoring the negative effects on the population, especially the poor who may find it difficult to bear the burden of the rising costs of medicines, not to mention the Houthis’ efforts to influence Humanitarian efforts by obstructing the efforts of humanitarian organizations to provide medical assistance to the affected population in Yemen.

Negative effects on the population:

The desperate attempts made by the Houthi militia to prevent the distribution of free medicines provided by organizations to the population in the areas under its control have a negative impact on the population, especially in light of the humanitarian crisis that the country is experiencing as a result of the war waged by the Houthi militia against the state since September 2014.

The most prominent of these negative effects on the population is the increase in death rates, as the impact of the war on the health sector is linked to an increase in death rates, especially among children and pregnant women, in addition to the psychological effects resulting from the war and the lack of medicines, especially for children and women, in addition to the exacerbation of poverty due to the costs of treatment. And loss of job opportunities.

The Houthi militia’s control over the capital and some other areas led to a major impact on the daily lives of residents in those areas in various fields, including the impact of medical services as a result of the militia’s influence on health services in areas under its control, as well as harnessing medical aid to distribute to its fighters.