'Double disaster' in Yemen as funding runs dry during COVID-19 outbreak

In Yemen, where the health care system is dangerously overstretched and aid cuts threaten what remains, health care workers warn the country's battle against the novel coronavirus is only beginning.
Children wearing protective masks look from behind a window during a 24-hour curfew amid concerns about the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Sanaa, Yemen May 6, 2020. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah - RC25JG9G88PF
Children wearing protective masks look through a window during a 24-hour curfew amid concerns about the spread of the novel coronavirus in Sanaa, Yemen, May 6, 2020. - REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
Elizabeth Hagedorn
Elizabeth Hagedorn
@ElizHagedorn

As life returns to a new normal throughout much of the world, health care workers in Yemen fear their war with the novel coronavirus has only just begun. 

“The introduction of this virus in the current situation will be catastrophic,” Dr. Ilan Abdul Haq, a health official in the Taiz governorate, told Al-Monitor. “The health system has totally collapsed.”

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.

Videos

See more