Fuel shortages cut incubators at a Taiz hospital in Yemen from 40 to 10
Fuel shortages in besieged Taiz have forced a maternity hospital to cut its working incubators from 40 to 10. UN agencies and aid groups warn of wider health and hunger effects.
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The story, neutrally told
Right · 2Fuel shortages in Yemen's besieged city of Taiz have forced one hospital to cut the number of incubators it can operate from 40 to 10, putting newborn babies at risk. The Straits TimesRC “Fuel shortages in Yemen's besieged city of Taiz have forced one hospital to cut the number of incubators it can operate from 40 to 10” Read at The Straits Times ↗ Arab NewsRC “Fuel shortages in Yemen’s besieged city of Taiz have forced one hospital to cut the number of incubators it can operate from 40 to 10” Read at Arab News ↗ Right · 1Nada Ahmed, a nurse in the neonatal unit of the Yemeni-Swedish Hospital for Maternity and Childhood, said there was no oxygen and no fuel to run the incubators. Nawal Najeeb, a supervisor in the unit, warned the facility could be forced to halt operations if fuel does not arrive. The Straits TimesRC “"There's no oxygen, there's no fuel to run the incubators, to keep the babies warm," said Nada Ahmed”“warned the facility could be forced to halt operations if fuel supplies do not arrive” Read at The Straits Times ↗ Right · 2Taiz has been largely isolated since October 3, with fighting preventing humanitarian supplies from entering and civilians from leaving, after an escalation in clashes between government forces and the Iran-aligned Houthi movement. The Straits TimesRC “Taiz has been largely isolated since October 3, with fighting preventing humanitarian supplies from entering and civilians from leaving” Read at The Straits Times ↗ Arab NewsRC “an escalation in clashes between the Yemeni government's army and the Iran-aligned Houthi movement” Read at Arab News ↗
Right · 2Key supply routes, including the Taiz-Aden corridor, have been blocked by Houthi forces, worsening shortages of water, food and fuel. According to the UN, the city hosts nearly half of the 250,000 people displaced by the latest fighting. The Straits TimesRC “Key supply routes, including the Taiz-Aden corridor, have been blocked by Houthi forces, worsening shortages of water, food and fuel.” Read at The Straits Times ↗ Arab NewsRC “The city hosts nearly half of the 250,000 people displaced by the latest fighting, according to the United Nations.” Read at Arab News ↗ Right · 1WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said 42 health facilities in Taiz city report acute shortages of fuel, oxygen, medicines and medical supplies. The Straits TimesRC “42 health facilities are reporting acute shortages of fuel, oxygen, medicines and medical supplies, WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said.” Read at The Straits Times ↗ Right · 1Driver Abdullah al-Radfani told Reuters fuel prices have surged to 2,000 Yemeni rials per litre. Oxfam Yemen's Fatma Jaffar Shotah said one dialysis patient now spends two nights at a health centre between sessions because travel costs have risen from half a dollar to around $10. The Straits TimesRC “Fuel prices have surged to 2,000 Yemeni rials per litre, driver Abdullah al-Radfani told Reuters.”“the cost rising from half a dollar to around $10” Read at The Straits Times ↗
Right · 1Médecins Sans Frontières said fuel shortages were causing power outages at hospitals and primary health centres in the southern governorates of Aden and Lahj, affecting operating theatres and intensive care units. The Straits TimesRC “fuel shortages were causing power outages at hospitals and primary healthcare centres in the southern governorates of Aden and Lahj” Read at The Straits Times ↗ Right · 1The World Food Programme says more than 800,000 people have been cut off from food assistance in Taiz and surrounding areas. Arab NewsRC “The World Food Programme says that more than 800,000 people have been cut off from food assistance in Taiz and surrounding areas.” Read at Arab News ↗ Right · 1UNICEF's Ricardo Pires said 52,000 of 168,000 children screened in Taiz this year are acutely malnourished, including more than 11,500 with severe acute malnutrition. UNICEF has nearly 8,000 cartons of therapeutic food in place, enough for about three months, but Pires warned that insecurity and movement restrictions could hamper future deliveries. The Straits TimesRC “52,000 of the 168,000 children screened in Taiz so far this year are acutely malnourished, including more than 11,500 suffering from severe acute malnutrition.”“enough to sustain treatment services for around three months” Read at The Straits Times ↗
Right · 1MSF screened 299 children under 5 at mobile clinics in Aden and Lahj between September 15 and October 22: 44 (14.7%) had moderate acute malnutrition and 28 (9.4%) were severely malnourished and needed hospital care. The Straits TimesRC “Forty-four children, or 14.7%, were suffering from moderate acute malnutrition, while 28 children, or 9.4%, were severely malnourished” Read at The Straits Times ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left0 outlets
No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Centre1 outlet
No centre outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Right2 outlets
- Framing
- Both outlets ran the same Reuters dispatch from Geneva, led by the hospital's incubator cut and nurses' warnings, followed by UN and aid-group figures on fuel, health and malnutrition. As agency copy, it shows Reuters' framing rather than either outlet's own.
- Emphasis
- Newborn risk, blocked supply routes blamed on Houthi forces, and malnutrition figures.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Neither copy includes a response from the Houthis or the government, and neither says who is responsible for the fuel shortage beyond the blocked routes.
- Charged language
- “besieged city”“catastrophe”
- For example
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“'No fuel to keep babies warm': shortages push hospitals in Yemen's Taiz to brink” — The Straits Times
“Key supply routes, including the Taiz-Aden corridor, have been blocked by Houthi forces” — Arab News
What every side reports
- One Taiz hospital cut its operable incubators from 40 to 10 because of fuel shortages.
- Taiz has been largely isolated since October 3 amid fighting between government forces and the Houthis.
- 42 health facilities in Taiz city report acute shortages, per the WHO.
- More than 800,000 people in Taiz and surrounding areas are cut off from WFP food assistance.
Where accounts differ
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How the government side of the conflict is described
- Right
- The Straits Times copy of the Reuters report calls it the "Saudi-backed government"; the Arab News copy says "the Yemeni government's army".
Taiz place
The city is described as besieged and largely isolated since October 3, with a hospital, 42 health facilities and displaced people strained by fuel and supply shortages.
“Taiz has been largely isolated since October 3” — The Straits Times
“42 health facilities are reporting acute shortages of fuel, oxygen, medicines and medical supplies” — The Straits Times
Yemen place
Yemen is shown in a deepening humanitarian crisis, with fighting between the government and the Houthis extending shortages and hunger to southern governorates such as Aden and Lahj.
“The strain is being felt beyond Taiz.” — The Straits Times
Left0 articles
No coverage yet.
Centre1 article
Right2 articles
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The Straits TimesRC · · via Reuters
'No fuel to keep babies warm': shortages push hospitals in Yemen's Taiz to brink
Sympathetic Reuters copy carried by The Straits Times, centred on newborns at risk and aid agencies' warnings, describing the "Saudi-backed government" versus the Houthis.
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Arab NewsRC · · via Reuters
‘No fuel to keep babies warm’: shortages push hospitals in Yemen’s Taiz to brink
Sympathetic The same Reuters copy carried by Arab News, with the same humanitarian focus, describing "the Yemeni government's army" in the fighting.
- 26 Oct 14:55 First The Straits TimesRC 'No fuel to keep babies warm': shortages push hospitals in Yemen's Taiz to brink via Reuters
- 26 Oct 15:05 +10m Arab NewsRC ‘No fuel to keep babies warm’: shortages push hospitals in Yemen’s Taiz to brink via Reuters
- 26 Oct 15:32 +36m The Times of IndiaN ‘No oxygen to keep babies warm’: Newborns at risk as fuel shortage hits Yemen’s Taiz
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.
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