According to Unicef, nearly 12.3 million children in Yemen are in dire need of supplies. The Corona virus creates a new emergency and exacerbates an already difficult humanitarian situation, Unicef warns in its new report "Yemen five years on: Children, conflict and Covid-19" released in the days.
Nearly 24,000 children who are already malnourished are at risk of dying and to save the children and assist with supplies in Yemen, Unicef states that they need € 48.5 million by August. So far, half of that sum has been received.
- We now face several challenges, these are conflicts, there is covid and now lack of assistance. The combination of these three is a disaster for ordinary people in Yemen, Bismarck Swangin, chief communications officer for Unicef in Yemen, told SVT.
Financial assistance before AugustThe situation regarding drinking water in Yemen is critical and help needs to arrive before August, according to Unicef.
- We will not be able to supply drinking water to over three million children and water is in turn important for washing hands, says Bismarck Swangin.
The coronavirus is acceleratingAccording to official figures, 1,000 deaths of covid-19 have been reported in Yemen, but statistics from areas ruled by rebel groups do not exist.
But the numbers vary and are considerably higher. According to a report from the London School of Hygine and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), over a million people may already be infected with coronavirus in Yemen. In one model, they also predict that 85,000 may have died in the virus in the worst case.
"The situation is complicated because we do not know the actual figures for the death rates of the corona virus in Yemen," says Bismarck Swangin.
The medical services sufferedIn a country whose health care has been excluded due to armed fighting and conflicts between different actors, there are less than five hospital beds per 10,000 inhabitants.
It is significantly fewer than the World Health Organization recommendation, which is ten hospital beds per 10,000 inhabitants.