RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Wednesday signed a contract to operate and manage Aden General Hospital in the de facto capital of Yemen and serve 438,000 patients a year, at a cost of more than SR330 million ($87.9 million), the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen signed the agreement as part of the Kingdom’s “continuous support to the Yemeni people and government, based on directives from King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman,” according to the report.
Operations at the hospital will begin within 90 days of completing of staff preparations, taking delivery of medicines and medical equipment, and testing health care devices.
The hospital will operate at 50 percent capacity during its first year of responding to the urgent needs of the people of Aden and neighboring governorates, increasing to full capacity by year two.
The signing ceremony for the agreement took place in Riyadh, attended by Mohamed Al-Jaber, the general supervisor of SDRPY and Saudi ambassador to Yemen, and Qasem Buhaibeh, the Yemeni minister of public health and population, along with other officials.
The aim of the project is to improve the performance of the local health sector, increase the quality of medical services in and around Aden, enhance good health and welfare practices, improve the medical services provided to the Yemeni people and provide more opportunities for them to receive treatment, SDRPY said.
The hospital will include 14 qualitative clinics, covering ophthalmology, pediatrics, dermatology, dentistry, ear, nose and throat, orthopaedics, internal medicine, and reproductive health, in addition to a laparoscopy and physiotherapy room, and a heart center.
The hospital has been equipped with 2,187 medical devices and has 270 beds. It was built as a gift to the Yemeni people from the Kingdom, financed by the Saudi Fund for Development.
“SDRPY attaches great importance to the health sector in Yemen through offering support to this vital sector via 25 development projects and initiatives, in addition to offering support to 17 medical centers by providing them with necessary medical equipment, 598 medical devices for hospitals and medical centers, 30 ambulances and 15 emergency response vehicles,” the program said.
Other SDRPY projects and initiatives in the health sector include the establishment of the 1 million-square-meter King Salman Medical and Educational City in Al-Mahra governorate. The venture is considered one of the biggest in Yemen’s health and educational sectors. The first stage of the project included the provision of a teaching hospital with a capacity of 110 beds.
In addition, a center for operations and an intensive care unit were established at Al-Ghaydah Hospital in Al-Mahra to help care for patients with chronic conditions and control infections.
Other schemes include a project to supply medical equipment and devices for a kidney dialysis center at Al-Gamhuria Modern General Hospital in Aden; a project to provide medical equipment for a blood-testing center in Aden; the rehabilitation of Marib General Hospital, Kara General Hospital, and the September 26 Hospital; the renovation of the Nojad Health Center and the Amadhan Health Center in Socotra; and the restoration of a maternity and pediatric center and addition of a kidney dialysis center in Al-Mahra.
SDRPY has implemented 207 development projects and initiatives in Yemen designed to bring about improvements in seven main sectors, including education, health, water, energy, transport, agriculture and fisheries, and boost the capacity of government institutions and development programs.
