India heals 1,000 victims of Yemen civil war

New Delhi : Jameel was badly injured when a bullet pierced through his hand and he was moved from the war zone in Yemen to India to undergo treatment.

Several surgeries later, his thumb had to be amputated and Jameel will now get a prosthetic thumb.

Like Jameel, Mohammed is also a soldier who got hit by a bullet in the leg. His knee was in bad shape when he arrived in hospital in New Delhi where he was operated upon several times as the doctors battled to stop the spread of infection.

He can now walk and is ready to return to his home. Jameel and Mohammed are two of the many Yemenis who arrived in India for treatment after getting injured in the bloody civil war. Around 1,000 Yemenis have been treated in New Delhi since July 2016.

Dr Mandeep Singh of Medeor Hospital, who treated Jameel and Mohammed said both underwent complex surgeries and are now fine to return.

The treatment is arranged by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) which pays for the medical assistance. UAE Ambassador to India Ahmed Albanna said on Wednesday that India is a preferred destination because of the good healthcare available here.

The UAE government is preparing to bring a fresh batch of patients in the coming weeks even as 234 injured along with 152 attendants have already been to India since January this year.

The UAE government has sponsored treatment of 729 injured and 325 attendants accompanying them.

The war injured are brought to the VPS Healthcare-Medeor Hospital in New Delhi.

"As a part of its international responsibility and humanitarian aid, the UAE government had decided to assist the unfortunate people who got injured in the war zone in Yemen," said the ambassador.

Dr Shajir Gaffar of VPS healthcare said that India's medical excellence is well established in the world.

Most of the patients who have arrived from Yemen are either wounded soldiers or civilians caught in the war. There have been many complicated cases needing multiple surgeries, said Chairman of Department of Orthopedics at Medeor hospital Dr PK Dave.

Victims of gunshots and blasts, most of the injured comes with broken knees, elbows and need joint replacements, said Dr Dave as he claimed that most of them walk back home.