Article 53CXF 'People are very afraid': Yemen faces spectre of coronavirus amid aid cuts

'People are very afraid': Yemen faces spectre of coronavirus amid aid cuts

by
Bethan McKernan Middle East correspondent
from on (#53CXF)

Renewed fighting and deepening humanitarian crisis means Covid-19 could prove a fatal blow

Ramadan is a quiet affair in Yemen this year. People are very afraid," said Ahmed, an aid worker in the Houthi rebel-controlled capital, Sana'a, who asked for his last name to be withheld. There's no money, there's no healthcare and now you can't even celebrate iftar with family because of the coronavirus."

Yemen, where five years of war have already created the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, is uniquely vulnerable to the coronavirus pandemic. Despite a unilateral ceasefire announced by Saudi Arabia last month, there has been an uptick in fighting between the Houthis and the Saudi and Emirati-led coalition fighting on behalf of Yemen's government, as well as renewed hostilities between the coalition and separatist forces in the country's south.

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