SANAA, 27 September 2007 (IRIN) - Aid workers in Yemen say they are working to assist residents in the northern province of Saada who have developed psychological problems in the aftermath of clashes between government forces and supporters of rebel leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi.

The rebellion, which first began in 2004, flared up again early this year. Several civilians were killed and houses and farms destroyed in the most recent clashes, said aid workers. Thousands of Saada residents have been displaced.

There are no precise data on the number of destroyed houses or basic needs requirements as the government has not yet assessed the damage. However, there has been a psychological impact, aid workers said.

"The situation of the displaced families is so hard. There are psychological cases among them. Even children fear going to school," Mahfoud al-Kadam, an information officer at the Medical Charitable Association (MCA), a Yemeni non-governmental organisation (NGO) based in Sanaa, said, adding that the necessary medication for basic needs had been distributed among local people.

According to al-Kadam, it is difficult to be specific about the psychological problems at this early stage as survey results have yet to come in

Medical convoy

The MCA on 24 September launched a project to send a medical convoy to Sahar, Majz, and al-Safra, three areas badly affected by the fighting.

The project, which cost about 27 million Yemeni riyals [about US$136,000] is funded by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), according to the MCA, and includes the setting up of a clinic in Saada for the treatment of psychological problems.

Al-Kadam told IRIN the project would initially train 30 people, including medical experts, on how to deal with psychological cases. "We are conducting a survey to discover the number of people with psychological problems," he said. An additional 70 people will then be trained on dealing with more serious psychological cases.

The medical convoy project consists of three medical teams. Each team will have two physicians, two pharmacists, a nurse and a laboratory expert. The project has already distributed household aid, including food, to 2,000 families (about 15,000 people) in the three districts, said al-Kadam.

The rebellion affected basic services in Saada, which has only five health facilities in rural areas and two in the city. About 8,000 families - some 56,000 people - were displaced by the fighting, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Several families have left their homes and farms and gone to Sanaa, Yemen's capital, according to local NGO Social Democracy Forum.

Despite a peace agreement signed in mid-June between the government and the rebels, sporadic clashes continue to cause fear among the residents.

Plight of the displaced

Malnutrition, diarrhoea and skin diseases were found among the displaced families, Omar Mujali, head of Saada health office, told IRIN. Stomach-related diseases were more common, he said.

"Lack of nutrition and overcrowding of the displaced in tents [each tent has a capacity of 7-8 people] were the main reasons for these health problems. Overcrowding could cause infection," he said.

Health facilities in rural areas were not prepared for a flood of displaced people: Pressure was put on health facilities in areas where the displaced settled, he said.

According to Mujali, about 70 percent of the displaced families have returned to their homes. He said it was difficult to give an exact number as there was no database of displaced people. He praised international and local NGOs that had sent medication and food.

The ICRC, the UN World Food Programme, and a number of local NGOs have sent aid caravans to Saada since clashes erupted again in early 2007.

Mujali said the Ministry of Health had also distributed free medication for the treatment of common diseases like diarrhoea, and anti-polio vaccines for children, and also set up three clinics for the displaced.

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