Almost 100 Yemeni Healthcare Workers Die from COVID-19
Nearly 100 healthcare workers in Yemen have died from coronavirus, as the disease spreads in the war-torn country, according to a report published by MedGlobal on Thursday.
MedGlobal provides healthcare services to the world’s most vulnerable people, including refugees, in low-income countries around the world. Humanitarians and aid workers in Yemen are working under the belief that the number of people infected with coronavirus is much higher than the country’s official numbers, given the country’s limited capacity for testing.
Yemen’s first COVID-19 cases were identified in April. Since then, the country claims to only have had 1,640 confirmed cases. But the reports of people being turned away from hospitals and mass graves being dug in Aden do not square with such low infection rates.
“The situation in Yemen is so dire, particularly in locations like Aden where hospitals are turning away suspected cases and news reports have tragically shown large numbers of graves being dug, that families are now leaving virus hotspots,” said Christa Rottensteiner, IOM Yemen’s Chief of Mission.
Before the pandemic even began, Yemen was suffering what the United Nations has called the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. War has depleted the country of resources, food, and medical supplies, and has left more than 50,000 people dead. More than half the population, or 14 million people, are at high risk of famine there. These destitute conditions make Yemen especially vulnerable to the pandemic.
Unfortunately, many Yemenis are also suffering from false information. Already struggling to find food and displaced from their homes, many Yemenis are moving again because of coronavirus, due to fears of contracting the virus or the related impacts of the virus including cuts to services and the country’s economic crisis.
“One of the key concerns that we have and one that’s shared by the humanitarian community not just in Yemen but elsewhere, is the emergence of these false narratives about COVID-19”, said United Nations spokesperson Paul Dillon. “False information that’s been circulated in different areas about the virus and the emerging and very clear examples, of xenophobia and xenophobic attacks being directed at displaced people.”
According to the United Nations International Organization for Migration, about eight in 10 people in Yemen need humanitarian assistance.
The death of healthcare workers is extremely devastating for Yemen, as most people in the country already lack access to vaccines, routine health care, and emergency care. Some health staff quit their jobs in Yemen because of the risk of getting coronavirus, says Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). Others have faced intimidations and violence, decimating already understaffed and under-resourced hospitals there.
Meanwhile, the United Nations and other aid organizations working in Yemen are struggling to meet their funding requirements. Funding shortfalls continue to undermine the work of these vital agencies.