The Yeman Crisis and Covid-19

Written By: Leela

Yemen is the least economically developed country in the Arab world, and as a result it has been subjected to the political interference of more economically developed countries in the region. With a population of 28 million, 40-45% of whom are Shia Muslims and roughly 50% of whom are Sunni Muslims, the country has been plagued by a brutal civil war between different religious sects and factions for over five years. In the South, a Saudia-led Arab coalition has supplied the Sunni and Houthi with arms (military drones from the US and UK) and other support, while Iran has allied with the North. The conflict is one of many proxy wars between Iran and Saudi Arabia, as the two nations fight for religious and political dominance in the Arab world under the Middle Eastern Cold War. All sides of the conflict have been denounced in the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC). However, the civil war has continued, despite the announcement of a ceasefire earlier this year.

In spite of the fact that the war has lasted roughly 6 years, the crisis is responsible for the degradation of Yemen to a point which the UN has described as a “living hell,” and is largely regarded as the worst man-made humanitarian crisis in the last century. 80% of the population, which is roughly 24 million people, require humanitarian aid to survive. With 12 million of those in need of humanitarian assistance being children, they have been the most affected. One 2018-19 report from UNICEF found that only 15% of children in the country had the minimum nutritional diet required to survive.

With a nationwide famine that has lasted five years and a civil war which has lasted for six, the threat of COVID-19 has only exacerbated the preexisting humanitarian crisis. This reveals that it is important, now more than ever, to provide aid to the region. One of the biggest risk factors for the country is that Yemen’s population is highly at risk for contracting the Coronavirus and lacks the medical systems to handle it.

The higher risk is due in part to the weaker immune systems of Yemeni who have been subjected to acute starvation for years. In the South, COVID-19 has had a 40% mortality rate, and epidemiological studies have estimated 55% of the population (16 million people) would contract the virus by the end of this year alone. This will further devastate the Yemeni population already troubled by a civil war, famine, and humanitarian crisis in what some have called the “extinction of the Yemeni.”

In addition to the effects of malnutrition, Yemen simply does not have the economic capacity or enough hospital beds to accommodate more, or in some places, any medical cases, due to the ongoing civil war. Less than 2 medical facilities are fully staffed and operational, meaning medical workers must operate with limited resources in hospitals where they cannot be guaranteed a stable income. Combined, these legitimate limitations have provided a significant disincentive for those in the medical field to provide care amidst a highly contagious virus outbreak. Compounded by the fact that cases are being seen in overpopulated refuge cities, and sometimes cities which have become war zones, in circumstances where doctors do not always have the resources to spare.

These factors are the reasons why now, more than ever, the country is in dire need of foreign aid in both financial and medical support. However, with an economic depression looming over the heads of major world powers, foreign humanitarian aid budgets have been slashed in countries which previously provided funding. $2.6 billion USD was pledged to help alleviate the food crisis last year, whereas this year, it has decreased to only $800 million. This demonstrates that not only are Yemen’s systems of virus alleviation virtually non-existent, but that there will be even less support from the international community. Ultimately, reducing the capabilities of the Yemeni medical services, which were never designed to handle a large influx of cases to begin with.

The third contributing factor to the havoc the virus is causing in Yemen is the fact that quarantine lockdowns and social distancing are simply not possible. A significant percentage of the population lives off of a day to day salary. This signifies that the average Yemeni citizen does not have the luxury of receiving government financial assistance for staying at home, and that because they subsist on the money that they make daily, staying home is a verifiable death sentence. Making it difficult to implement any serious measures that would not significantly hamper the ability of people — at least those who can afford to eat — to get nutrition.

To reiterate, en masse with the civil war and famine Yemen lacks the appropriate medical and political systems and economic support to combat the ever-growing humanitarian crisis, which has been heightened by the Coronavirus. Humanitarian aid for Yemen is more vital than ever, if people wish to preserve the Yemeni people and culture, since this could effectively put millions of lives at risk.

Edited By: Happy

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Bibliography:

Hincks, Joseph. “How COVID-19 Is Spreading Undetected Through Yemen.” Time, Time, 28 May 2020, time.com/5843732/yemen-covid19-invisible-crisis/.

“Waiting to Declare Famine 'Will Be Too Late for Yemenis on Brink of Starvation' | | UN News.” United Nations, United Nations, 2020, news.un.org/en/story/2020/07/1068101.

Yee, Vivian. “Coronavirus Slams Broken, Embattled Yemen.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 30 May 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/05/30/world/middleeast/virus-yemen.html.

“Yemen: Displaced at Heightened Covid-19 Risk.” Human Rights Watch, 17 July 2020, www.hrw.org/news/2020/05/22/yemen-displaced-heightened-covid-19-risk.

“Yemen Crisis.” UNICEF, 18 June 2020, www.unicef.org/emergencies/yemen-crisis#:~:text=Yemen%20is%20the%20largest%20humanitarian%20crisis%20in%20the%20world%2C%20with,hell%20for%20the%20country's%20children.