The Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) has completed the construction, furnishing, and equipping of a dialysis centre at Ibn Khaldoun Hospital in Yemen’s Lahij Governorate, at a cost of $711,150, funded by a Qatari donor.The project included the supply and installation of 12 dialysis machines and treatment chairs, an integrated water treatment unit, dialysis equipment, laboratory instruments, and the medical and office furniture required for clinical operations.
The centre was also equipped with two power generators, a complete air-conditioning system, medications, dialysis solutions, fuel, personal protective equipment (PPE), and sterilisation and hygiene supplies.Healthcare personnel received training in operating the dialysis machines and caring for patients with kidney failure.
Following the installation and testing of the equipment, the centre had a soft launch of its services.Dialysis centre director Dr Othman Abdul-Basit said that patients are being admitted gradually as part of the initial operational phase, with plans to expand services to residents from districts across Lahij Governorate.“All the necessary equipment and resources are now available, enabling patients to receive dialysis sessions more easily,” he said.“
The service is provided free of charge, sparing patients and their families significant travel costs and financial burdens,” Dr Abdul-Basit added. “This centre is a jewel because of its immense value to the health sector and to patients with kidney failure.”Ahmed Hassan al-Sharaji, head of the QRCS office in Yemen, said the initiative was implemented in two phases at a cost of $1.5mn.“The first phase involved constructing a 20-room medical facility to the highest healthcare standards, while the second phase focused on procuring and installing state-of-the-art dialysis equipment to ensure specialised and efficient services,” he said.Al-Sharaji added that the QRCS also plans to fund the centre’s operating costs for its first year, with a budget of $236,412.“
We will provide medications, medical supplies, dialysis solutions, operational requirements and staff salaries to ensure sustainable and uninterrupted treatment for patients,” he said.Dr Khaled Gaber, the director-general of the Health and Population Office in Lahij, described the opening as a long-awaited milestone.“Today, this centre has turned from a dream into a reality,” he said.
“It is an outstanding medical facility and a major addition to the healthcare sector in Yemen, particularly in Lahij.”The QRCS is also appealing for donations to support a project that will provide medications, medical consumables and dialysis machines for 350 kidney failure patients at a total cost of QR1.42mn.Donations can be made through the QRCS website at www.qrcs.org.qa, the mobile application, the donor hotline at 66666364, the home collection service at 33998898, or donation points at shopping malls and commercial centres.