At this Critical Time, Yemenis Need Help Now more than Ever

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At this Critical Time, Yemenis Need Help Now more than Ever

posted on: Jun 17, 2020

CNS photo/Khaled Abdullah, Reuters

By: Yasmina Hage/Arab America Contributing Writer

As of May 2020, Yemen has been engaged in a war for five long years. As a result, at this critical time, the Yemeni population’s immune system and access to infrastructure, for example, are fragile. The consequences of COVID-19 in this country can, therefore, be devastating. In fact, The World Health Organization fears that COVID-19 will severely affect this country. 24 million Yemenis need help and humanitarian aid, but because of the COVID-19, aid is declining considerably.

Yemen recorded its first case of COVID-19 in southern Hadramut province on April 10. Before that, it was one of the last countries in the world, not to have recorded any cases of Covid-19. Officially, 161 people have died of COVID-19. However, in the week of May 11 to 17, approximately 500 people passed away in the city of Aden with corona-like symptoms according to the city’s registry. This virus has thus become a real threat to the Yemeni population. Moreover, with the high number of cases in neighboring countries and the collapse of the health system due to the war, the risk of spreading the virus is very high.

Why COVID-19 have severe consequences for Yemenis?

Hunger in Yemen

There are several reasons why the outbreak of COVID-19 is dramatic in this country.

First of all, it is a country that is experiencing the most severe humanitarian crises in the world. As a result, the spread of COVID-19 will expose many families to extreme poverty and famine. In addition to the starvation and poverty already prevalent in Yemen, there are epidemics of dengue fever and cholera. These problems are frequent in Yemen due to the fragile health system and lack of access to drinking water.

As you have been instructed, washing your hands with soap and water is essential to protect yourself and others from the risk of contamination. However, for many Yemenis, this is impossible. In addition, many families depend on public wells and fountains for their water supply. The problem is that, in these places, they are always a lot of people. So there is a high risk of spreading COVID-19.

Another crucial point during this pandemic is hospitals. Youssef al-Hadri, a spokesman for the Yemeni Ministry of Health affiliated with the Houthis in Sana’a, said that war and sanctions have led to a shortage of medical supplies. In fact, the few functional hospitals and health centers have minimal capacity for intensive care, which is necessary to treat those most severely affects. With the spread of COVID-19, these structures will be rapidly overwhelmed as they must also care for the victims and meet the very high medical needs of the population. UNICEF said: “An estimated 2 million Yemeni children are malnourished. Of these, 360,000 children under the age of five are acutely malnourished and have to fight every day to survive”. So, they will have a difficult struggle to survive if they catch the virus.

Moreover, Yemen depends on imports for about 80 to 90 percent of its food and other necessities. So, closing the borders, which usually is necessary for the face of this virus, is very difficult. Despite efforts, limiting the spread of the virus is quite tricky because the country has very limited personal protection stocks.

Hospitals closing down

A bomb was used against this hospital.

In Aden, for example, hospitals under the leadership of the JTS supported by the United Arab Emirates have been closed to protect health workers because of poorly efficient equipment.

In addition, many health facilities in Yemen have closed in part because of the impact of the ongoing war and frequent attacks on facilities. This has further reduced the capacity of the health system to deal with a pandemic such as this. Given the many problems mentioned above, Yemen is struggling to cope with this virus.

What is the government doing to deal with this crisis?

To limit the spread of the virus in Yemen, the coalition led by the Saudis decreed a unilateral ceasefire on Thursday, 9 April.

The various Yemeni authorities have taken measures to respond to this Covid-19 pandemic. However, the five years of conflict have led to the collapse of the health system. This response is casually impossible because of the low level of resources available in the country. Moreover, to prevent the spreading of the virus, the governor of Taiz decided to close the province’s borders for two weeks, except for supplies of food and other essential goods.

In addition, to control the spread of the virus, the Yemeni Prime Minister said during a meeting that the government was closely monitoring local authorities on the measures taken. Also, Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi has decided to ban flights to and from Yemen to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. As a result, it led to the reduction of international relief teams to essential personnel. Authorities have decided that “All passenger transport to/from and within Yemen is suspended by any means of transport (air, ship, road).”

Humanitarian aid

Because of COVID-19, less and less aid can reach Yemen to help people in need. However, 24 million people in Yemen need humanitarian aid. The current situation can, therefore, lead many of these 24 million people to death. COVID-19 is a real threat to Yemen, and so are the measures against it.

MSF has helped the authorities in Yemen to set up Covid-19 treatment centers, but overall there are almost no functioning treatment centers in the country and very little funding to pay health workers. Also, some organizations have been forced to cut their aid by 50% because they do not have enough funds. As a result, families will only receive aid once every two months instead of monthly. But fortunately, other associations are also there to help.

ACTED, for example, has donated essential equipment. That is to say, more than 1,600 mattresses, 1,479 blankets, water buckets, and hygiene products. ACTED has also been coordinating with the authorities and concerned groups to identify the equipment needs of the centers. ACTED and its partners will design and implement other activities to support the authorities’ capacity to respond to the coronavirus outbreak.

Many people are at risk of losing their lives if we do not intervene and help them, and many will, unfortunately, die from COVID-19.

How can you help people in need?

Yemen needs help in many different areas. Your support can make a difference and save lives. So don’t wait any longer, take action! Here is a list of some of the organizations you can help with donations: