The Yemeni government has appealed to the international community for help in dealing with a surge of coronavirus cases across the war-ravaged country.
Yemen has only officially registered 130 cases of the virus and 20 deaths, but health infrastructure problems caused by a long conflict between the government and Houthi rebels are hindering tests.
WHO models project half of Yemen’s 30 million population could become infected, resulting in more than 40,000 deaths.
Yemen’s Health Minister Nasser Ba’aom and Minister of Local Administration Abdul Raqib Fatah made the plea for international assistance on Sunday.
“We need PPE supplies, ventilators and finance for the medical workers who work in the Covid-19 centres,” Dr Ba’aom said.
“We also need medical equipment such as a complete biological unit, testing kits, field hospitals, beds for the ICUs.
"Additionally, we still need food aid as well as water, sanitation and hygiene equipment.”
The appeal followed similar pleas from medical staff in treatment centres across government-controlled areas.
"We have been facing a severe shortage in the medical supplies needed to handle with Covid-19 cases," a doctor in Aden told The National.
"The testing equipment and kits are very few.
"We also need personal protective equipment, and equipment with all the medical solutions needed to test suspected cases.
“Many suspected cases arrive in the centre on a daily basis but we do nothing for them because we don’t have testing materials that enable us to identify whether the patient has Covid-19 or another disease."
Health authorities in Yemen face additional challenges battling the pandemic during the war time.
They also have a lack of experienced and qualified medical staff, and those who are qualified fear they will catch the virus.
“We face a lot of challenges in the fight to curb the pandemic. We don’t have a clear strategic vision for health so far,” said Dr Jamal Khadabakhish, Aden’s health director.
Coronavirus around the region: in photos
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Health workers enter the Al Kubi Hospital in Yemen's southern coastal city of Aden. AFP -
A drone shows deserted streets during the lockdown imposed by the authorities in Beirut, Lebanon. EPA -
A man walks through the Zebaalin neighbourhood in Cairo, Egypt. EPA -
A Jordanian returning from abroad offers a prayer of thanks upon arrival at the Queen Alia International Airport, Amman. EPA -
Elderly people spend time at Gezi Park in Istanbul, Turkey. EPA -
Turkish mounted police officers patrol the Kizilay National Will Square in Ankara. AFP -
Palestinian women make traditional biscuits in preparation for the upcoming Eid Al Fitr holiday in Rafah, Gaza Strip. AFP -
Altar boys take part in a mass at the Mart Shmoni church in Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq. AFP -
A Jordanian returning from abroad arrives at the Queen Alia International Airport in Amman. EPA -
Jordanian brothers Hussein and Zeyad Ashish, boxers who qualified for the next Olympics, train on the roof of their home at Al Baqaa Palestinian refugee camp, near Amman. Reuters -
A man prepares disinfectant during a civil initiative to sterilise the Zebaalin district in Cairo, Egypt. EPA -
A woman walks past writing on a wall that encourages people to stay at home to prevent the spread of coronavirus, in Sale, Morocco. EPA -
A Moroccan police officer confronts curfew violators in Rabat. EPA -
A healthcare worker assists a coronavirus patient at one of the intensive care units of the Moulay Abdellah hospital in Sale, Morocco. EPA
“The rapid spread of the pandemic in the country added new challenges.
"Some public sector medical staff still refuse to go to their workplaces. They still have a pandemic phobia even though we provided them with enough personal protective equipment.”
Dr Khadabakhish said medical staff were afraid to work because of the large number of deaths among their colleagues.
Other regions reported different issues.
“We have the testing kits but we really face a shortage in personal protective equipment,” said Dr Riyadh Al Gerari, head of the Supreme National Committee Combating Covid-19 in Hadramawt.
The Ministry of Health reported six new cases in Hadramawt on Sunday, raising the number of recorded cases in nine government-controlled provinces to 128. Two more were reported on Tuesday.
The EU responded quickly to the government’s appeal, promising €55 million (Dh220.8m/US60.1$m) to “build a strong and co-ordinated European response in Yemen”.
“The EU will reorient ongoing support to help Yemen respond to the Covid-19 pandemic in the immediate and short-term,” the bloc said.
“Ongoing projects in the health sector will be recalibrated focusing on training medical staff, strengthening the network of community healthcare workers, strengthening the resilience of vulnerable communities, improving health services and empowering local development.”
