The war-torn country of Yemen has long endured years of civil war and has millions of survivors currently living in UN Refugee camps. With limited resources, this developing country faces several challenges each day with civil unrest, the rainy season bringing several other diseases and international aid agencies forced to pull aid. Many have speculated that this may be the breaking point for Yemen. 

Yemen’s Civil War 

Yemen’s capital is Sana’a but is now under Houthi rebel control who control the north. The conflict is speculated by the UN to have killed more than 100,000 people. With so much destruction, bombings and millions of displaced refugees, the country called an unofficial ceasefire in April due to the coronavirus spreading around the country. Additionally, with the current travel restrictions, no one has been able to get accurate depictions of the situation, so they are relying on local testimonies and those they already have in place, but many believe the Houthi party have not been reporting accurate numbers of victims due to COVID-19.

International Aid 

The country has had many international aid systems working together to provide support to the country for many years, even as the population has struggled with violence and war. But now, with the current travel restrictions and other countries dependencies, many are getting pulled and leaving the country on its own. “They will be leaving something like 3.6 million internally displaced and 280,000 refugees without any form of assistance.” The country largely relies on the resources that are brought in through these programs, so with the projects getting pulled it means may signal a dark turn for the country. 

Resource Availability

Considered to be one of the least developed countries, Yemen has always struggled with providing enough resources to the entirety of their country. Facing factors such as over “80% of Yemenis needing humanitarian assistance, over half of the country’s hospital facilities are dysfunctional and about a quarter of country’s districts have no doctors.”  Especially now, during the rainy season many diseases such as malaria, cholera, dengue fever and chikungunya are rampant throughout the country. Just two weeks ago the country reported zero COVID-19 cases and in the past two weeks it has spiked to over 500, an alarming rate for it to spread and with the knowledge that these are inaccurate numbers, the country is in a real state of emergency.

The country already has a predicted low immunity due to most people eating one meal a day and children who are not vaccinated because of limited supplies. Even in the hospitals they have limited room, few blood tests and not enough specialists who know what to look for. Hope has started to look wane as workers dig graves in the cemetery in preparation for more bodies as they pile up but there is limited room and those who deliver the bodies do not wear any protective clothing or gear. The government’s coronavirus committee has declared the city of Aden an “invested city”, and locals live in fear as they don’t know anything about the disease and lack the specialists to confirm it.   

Yemen has struggled for years to take care of its inhabitants and have faced many fronts of violence and challenges since 2011 when their internal conflict started. COVID-19 has only added to their list of worries and serves as a warning that without aid, they may not have the proper equipment or resources to survive. Locals are working on ways to create resources that are easily accessible in the country through the local markets but for the time being, their future has taken a bleak turn as they face a rising death toll and support being pulled as their refugees once again get displaced and are forced to look for new help.