MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th May, 2020) Yemen, which has been at war for almost six years, risks facing a rapid increase in COVID-19 cases due to the vulnerability and poor level of immunity of the population, and the country's weakened health system will unlikely be able to handle the accompanying load, Altaf Musani, the WHO representative in Yemen, told Sputnik in an interview.
"Low levels of immunity, high levels of acute vulnerability and a fragile health system that cannot handle an additional crisis all resulting in catastrophic outcomes. All of this combined increases the likelihood of a rapid increase in cases, which will overwhelm Yemen's already struggling health system," Musani said.
The WHO representative added that the likely surge in infections represented "one of the greatest threats" to citizens' health security.
"We are almost six years into this conflict � the people of Yemen suffer from a range of communicable and noncommunicable diseases. The people have survived on food aid for years, which means that a large percentage of the population is highly susceptible to the virus," Musani stated.
Musani stressed that the WHO was constantly supporting local health authorities by providing assistance in various areas, including case management, logistics, and infection prevention and control.
"We are supporting the local health authorities on the ground in both north and south through the response pillars, including coordination and planning, community engagement, case management, surveillance, support for points of entry, laboratory capacity, infection prevention and control, operation support logistics and ensuring the continuity of the health system," the official noted.
According to the Yemeni Health Ministry, the number of COVID-19 cases in the country has so far reached 249 with 49 deaths and 10 recoveries. The United Nations, however, has voiced its concern that the actual numbers may be much higher than reported due to low testing capacity.
