THE WAR HASN’T STOPPED. NOT EVEN DURING A PANDEMIC.
Help protect the people of Yemen.
Before war broke out in Yemen in 2015, it was already one of the poorest countries in the world. Its people relied on imports for 90 percent of their food. After five years of violence, the country has been pushed to the brink of famine.
Ordinary people are paying the price. More than 24 million people – 80 percent of the population – are in desperate need of help. The currency has collapsed and the price of food has doubled.
Thousands have been killed, millions displaced, cholera is rampant and children are dying of malnutrition. Now they face the threat of COVID-19 too.
The people of Yemen face a deadly triple threat – bombs, disease and hunger – and it’s threatening to wipe out an entire generation.
Yemen’s economy has been shattered. Homes have been burnt out, and warehouses and farms destroyed as hostilities rage on.
Basic necessities like medicines and clean water are scarce. The flow of food – nearly 90 percent of which had to be imported even before the conflict started – has been massively disrupted by the conflict. Prices are continuing to rise, while most people have lost their jobs.
Oxfam has so far helped more than 3 million people in Yemen. Trucks of clean water have been sent and families can buy food and medicines with Oxfam’s cash assistance programme. But sanitation remains a big problem in Yemen.
COVID-19 comes as a crisis on top of a crisis. We are supporting local communities rebuild and repair critical water and sanitation infrastructure, distributing buckets and soap for personal hygiene, and building latrines.
We’re providing water to more than 126,000 people besieged in Taiz city by working with local organisations and a private water trucking company. We are making progress – but it’s not enough. Sadly, many have died before we could get clean water to them.
I’ve been working for Oxfam Ireland for seven years now and I can honestly say the situation in Yemen has shocked me to the core. Hunger has ravaged the face of every person in the street. Cholera has been sweeping through the country as clean water becomes more difficult to find. And while Covid-19 spreads, Yemen’s healthcare system has practically collapsed.
Half of the health facilities have been destroyed by five years of conflict. The ones that remain face shortages of medicines, equipment, and staff. There are 700 intensive care unit beds and 500 ventilators for a population of about 30 million.
I know that children die for the price of a meal or a taxi to the hospital. One in every two people are just a step away from famine. How will families in Yemen have any chance to resist the virus?
The ongoing war and this pandemic make our work incredibly challenging, but we’re determined to keep on doing what it takes to save the lives of ordinary people. If you are in a position to send a gift, can you please help the most vulnerable stand a chance against the virus?
Could you send a survival kit to keep vulnerable families safe from disease?
Mona and her four children fled airstrikes a few months ago. Her husband was separated from the family. They don’t know where he is.
Like nearly half of all children under five in Yemen, Mona’s youngest baby has severe malnutrition. With no money for medication or food, Mona can only watch and pray as his condition worsens.
A child dies every ten minutes in Yemen of malnutrition and treatable diseases. Mona’s story is all too common in a country ripped apart by five years of war. We urgently need to reach families like Mona’s with lifesaving aid.
Sometimes I stop and ask myself, how did this happen?
The conflict in Yemen continues to displace families. A deadly triple threat – bombs, disease and hunger – is threatening to wipe out an entire generation.
Please send a survival kit today. A survival kit could contain food vouchers, soap, water purification tablets and a jerry can – the basic equipment a family needs to survive.
With 14 million people at risk of famine, I assure you that your donation will make an incredible impact.
Thank you for anything you can give.
Colm Byrne, Humanitarian Manager for Oxfam Ireland
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