Health care system collapses as COVID-19 races across Yemen

As the United Nations appeals for $2 billion in emergency funding for Yemen, aid organizations on the ground warn community transmission of the coronavirus is taking place throughout the war-torn country.
A man wears a protective face mask outside a shop amid concerns over the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Sanaa, Yemen May 13, 2020. Picture taken May 13, 2020. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah - RC2WQG97P6Y8
A man wears a protective face mask outside a shop amid concerns over the spread of the novel coronavirus in Sanaa, Yemen, May 13, 2020. - REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
Al Monitor: The Pulse of the Middle East
Al-Monitor Staff

Yemen’s health care system has reportedly collapsed as cash-strapped aid agencies scale back basic services amid the country’s fast-spreading COVID-19 outbreak, the United Nations reported Friday. 

“Aid agencies in Yemen are operating on the basis that community transmission is taking place across the country,” said Jens Laerke, spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. 

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