The ongoing humanitarian crisis in Yemen has reached breaking point as coronavirus and famine sweep through the population.
UNICEF reports that Yemen ‘is the largest humanitarian crisis in the world’ with 24 million people, who make up 80% of the country’s population, in need of humanitarian aid. Many of whom lack access to sufficient hygiene facilities. This number includes 2 million children under five years old who are suffering from acute malnutrition.
Since 2014, Yemen has been locked in a Civil War with external involvement from the UAE and Saudi Arabia. While the conflict has snowballed, so has famine and disease. As the global pandemic descends on this country, the existing vulnerability of the population put Yemen ‘on the verge of extinction’.
the UN estimates 3.6 million have been made homeless and 100,000 killed
Sky News reports that ‘half of the health facilities’ have been destroyed in the five years of war and the country is already struggling to cope with outbreaks of dengue fever, malaria and cholera. This will make ‘testing and tracing’ very difficult and authorities will be unlikely to be able to control the spread of the disease. Due to this, it is unknown how many cases and deaths Yemen has suffered, so far. As well as this, the pandemic and its economic repercussions mean that NGOs are limited in the help that they can provide.
So far, as a result of the war, the UN estimates that 3.6 million people have been made homeless and 100,000 killed. This number is likely to rise significantly in the coming weeks.
Humanitarian aid charities are sending out emergency appeals all over the world to help in any way they can but are struggling from a lull in donations in the midst of coronavirus.
To donate and learn more about the crisis in Yemen, click the links below:
UNICEF: https://www.unicef.org/emergencies/yemen-crisis
Save the Children: https://www.savethechildren.org.uk/how-you-can-help/emergencies/yemen-crisis
Islamic Relief Worldwide: https://www.islamic-relief.org/category/appeals/emergencies/yemen-crisis-appeal/
Oxfam: https://www.oxfam.org/en/what-we-do/emergencies/crisis-yemen
CAFOD: https://cafod.org.uk/News/Emergencies-news/Yemen-Crisis-Explained
Amnesty Petition ‘Stop the flow of weapons to Yemen’: https://www.amnesty.org/en/get-involved/take-action/yemen-stop-weapons-transfers/
‘Stop the war and end the famine in Yemen’ Petition: https://www.change.org/p/stop-the-war-and-end-the-famine-in-yemen
Salam for Yemen Petition: https://salamforyemen.org/petitions/sign-the-sfy-petition/
Daisy Forster
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Featured image courtesy of Carl Waldmeier via flickr. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.
