SHAFAQNA- After five years of war and now a pandemic, “Yemen is really on the brink” and its health system “has in effect collapsed”.
Hundreds of deaths from “coronavirus-like symptoms” have raised fears COVID-19 is rapidly spreading undetected throughout war-torn Yemen, where the United Nations and medical workers say the health care system “has in effect collapsed”. Moreover, Yemen, alongside Syria and Sudan, is one of the most vulnerable states in the Middle East in terms of food security. Some 80 percent of Yemen’s population are reliant on aid and millions face hunger.
According to official numbers, Yemen have confirmed 212 infections and 39 deaths, but with one of lowest rates of testing in the world, aid workers fear this figure is “just the tip of the iceberg”. Epidemiologists estimate the novel Coronavirus in Yemen could spread “faster, more widely and with deadlier consequences” than in many other countries, a UN humanitarian official said, according to AA. “The COVID-19 pandemic is severely exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, which was already the world’s largest,” Jens Laerke, spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.
Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) reported on Friday as many as 80 people were dying at home per day — up from a pre-outbreak norm of 10 — in the city of Aden, where the international aid group run the only dedicated COVID-19 centre in southern Yemen , Abc reported. “What we are seeing in our treatment centre is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the number of people infected and dying in the city,” said Caroline Seguin, MSF’s operations manager for Yemen.
“People are coming to us too late to save, and we know that many more people are not coming at all. They are just dying at home.” Earlier this month, Save the Children reported at least 385 deaths within one week from “Coronavirus-like symptoms” in Aden. Earlier, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said that Yemen, already pushed to the brink of famine by a five-year war, could see a “catastrophic” food security situation due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
15.9 million Yemenis classified as food insecure
There are currently 15.9 million Yemenis classified as food insecure out of a population of some 28 million, NYPost mentioned. “Without peace we will continue to struggle with food insecurity and there will be no long term recovery,” FAO said. The Emirates Red Crescent has distributed more than 770 tonnes of food aid to the residents of Hadramaut governorate in Yemen, during the holy month of Ramadan, The National reported.
The aid will help families affected by the Coronavirus outbreak. The UN estimates that it will seek $US2 billion ($3 billion) for Yemen to maintain aid programs through to the end of the year, Mr Laerke, spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.