Oxygen generators arrive in Aden as Saudi Arabia steps up Yemen aid

The equipment will serve hospitals in the Hadramawt and Abyan regions

A view of a hospital in Aden, southern Yemen. AFP

The first shipment of oxygen generators has arrived at Yemen's Aden Port as part of a Saudi humanitarian package.

The generators, destined for Tarim hospital in Hadramawt and Lawdar Hospital in Abyan, will "significantly enhance" healthcare facilities at the hospitals, according to a Sunday readout from Saudi state news agency Spa.

It follows the kingdom's recent announcement of a $320 million development initiative serving the Hadramawt region in southern Yemen.

The generators were sent to Yemen with the help of the World Health Organisation, Spa said, as part of an initiative to bolster healthcare in the war-torn country.

In November, Spa reported the kingdom was building a round-the-clock primary healthcare centre in Hadramawt.

Construction of the facility, worth $1.5 million, is expected to be completed next year.

On Thursday, Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Saeed urged for international debt relief to support peace prospects in the country.

“We need some patience from the international funds,” he said at a Chatham House conference in London.

“We are losing capacity, we are losing education, we are losing universities – it is hard for me as Prime Minister to resolve this. I cannot manage without some national resources. The situation is not made by me but provided to me."

Yemen's conflict began in 2014 when Houthi rebels seized the capital Sanaa, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene the following year to support the internationally-recognised government.

The fighting has since killed hundreds of thousands of people and created what the UN calls one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

The leader of the country's Southern Transitional Council, Gen Aidaroos Al Zubaidi, has also called for increased humanitarian support.

“The world is not paying much attention to Yemen, and this has affected the humanitarian situation. We expect this to worsen,” Gen Al Zubaidi said last week.

"People are really suffering."