Organizations warn of imminent disaster in Yemen

In recent days, the aid organizations Save the Children and Doctors Without Borders have raised alarms about a dramatic increase in the number of people who die after falling ill with coronal-like symptoms in the port city of Aden.

Officially, the number of coronas infected in the country is low. But Save the Children program in Yemen Mohammad Alshamaa says that the number of graves dug in Aden in southern Yemen has doubled in recent weeks.

Alshamaa says that many people who suffer from corona do not receive care.

 - Our employees report on patients who have gone from hospital to hospital but have been rejected for lack of space. Instead, they have died on the street outside or at home, he tells SVT.

The organization Doctors Without Borders confirms the picture that a large number of people with coronal-like symton have sought care in Aden recently. The possibilities to test for the virus are small. Normally about ten people die on a regular day in Aden, but government statistics now show a large increase in the number of deaths by 80 deaths per day.

Officially, only 134 people have been infected by covid-19 in Yemen, and about 20 have died. But there are many indications that the figures are being frowned upon both by the Huthi rebels in the north and by the rival government in the south.

Even before the corona pandemic, the world's largest humanitarian disaster was underway in Yemen. Diseases such as malaria, dengue and cholera are widespread. After five years of fighting, only half of the country's hospitals are in use.

The war in Yemen broke out in March 2015 after the Iran-backed Huthi rebels took control of the capital Sanaa. After the country's President Hadi asked for outside help, a coalition led by Saudi Arabia launched bombings of rebel-controlled areas. Tens of thousands of civilians are estimated to have died as a result of the bombings.

The UN has called for a ceasefire in the country during the corona pandemic. But the fighting has continued after separatists in southern Yemen - also called the Southern Transitional Council STC, proclaimed independence. The United Arab Emirates has come in and supported the separatists with weapons.

Today, 22 million people depend on outside help to survive. The UN is now warning of a growing hunger in the wake of the corona pandemic.