In what could be one of world’s worst-affected coronavirus outbreaks, Yemen is facing a staggering death toll, which could possibly spell doomsday for the country.
Hundreds of thousands of Yemenis are under the knife after the United Nations’ funding got slashed for the war-stricken country. The cuts came after UN appeals for $2.42 billion in funding fell short by about 50% this week. Due to this, many malnutrition centers and hospitals have closed due to funding shortfalls and doctors’ concerns about their personal safety from coronavirus.
“The worst-case scenario — which is the one we’re facing now — means that the death toll from the virus could exceed the combined toll of war, disease and hunger over the last five years [in Yemen],” said Lise Grande, the head of the UN’s humanitarian operations in Yemen.
The official death toll of the country due to coronavirus is only 127. This is because, in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, the country is also experiencing a Chikungunya outbreak and more than 100,000 known cholera cases across the nation. Flash floods this spring destroyed the city’s power grid. The combined death toll due to these reasons is said to exceed the five-year war casualty record.
Experts fear that if this situation continues, the country may be wiped out from the world map, because it is ill-equipped to handle three outbreaks and a war combined.