The World’s Worst Humanitarian Crisis
After years of fighting, the countries of North and South Yemen unified to become a single country in
1990. However, even after years of unification, conflict between the different regions still exists today
and has led to the current civil war in Yemen. The main power struggle in the country is between the
Yemeni government and the Houthi army (an Iranian backed rebel group). Due to political unrest during
the Arab Spring, former President Saleh resigned from his position and allowed Abdrabbuh Mansour
Hadi to take power. However, Hadi eventually fled to Saudi Arabia, where he held presidential power
from afar. The fighting is still happening today, and through all this turmoil, the innocent citizens of
Yemen have suffered for years on end, facing economic, social, and public health crises.
1990. However, even after years of unification, conflict between the different regions still exists today
and has led to the current civil war in Yemen. The main power struggle in the country is between the
Yemeni government and the Houthi army (an Iranian backed rebel group). Due to political unrest during
the Arab Spring, former President Saleh resigned from his position and allowed Abdrabbuh Mansour
Hadi to take power. However, Hadi eventually fled to Saudi Arabia, where he held presidential power
from afar. The fighting is still happening today, and through all this turmoil, the innocent citizens of
Yemen have suffered for years on end, facing economic, social, and public health crises.
Recently, there has been a new public health threat in Yemen--the spread of diphtheria. This is a bacterial
disease that causes mucous membranes to inflame, leading to difficulty breathing and swallowing. It also
puts people at risk for heart and nerve damage caused by a toxin released in the blood stream. Due to the
infrastructure degradation caused by the civil war, citizens often do not have access to basic health
treatments such as the diphtheria vaccine, causing the disease to spread and take the lives of many people.
Diphtheria primarily attacks younger individuals, with seventy-nine percent of the cases being people
under the age of 20. With the fatality ratio at 10%, this disease is creeping up on many lives and will
continue to do so unless serious changes are implemented. While the World Health Organization (WHO),
the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MoPHP), and UNICEF have been assigned to control the
outbreaks, there are still many underlying problems in Yemen that will take years to fix.
disease that causes mucous membranes to inflame, leading to difficulty breathing and swallowing. It also
puts people at risk for heart and nerve damage caused by a toxin released in the blood stream. Due to the
infrastructure degradation caused by the civil war, citizens often do not have access to basic health
treatments such as the diphtheria vaccine, causing the disease to spread and take the lives of many people.
Diphtheria primarily attacks younger individuals, with seventy-nine percent of the cases being people
under the age of 20. With the fatality ratio at 10%, this disease is creeping up on many lives and will
continue to do so unless serious changes are implemented. While the World Health Organization (WHO),
the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MoPHP), and UNICEF have been assigned to control the
outbreaks, there are still many underlying problems in Yemen that will take years to fix.
According to the United Nations, Yemen is now considered the “world’s worst humanitarian crisis”,
with deaths not just from diphtheria, but also from war crimes, suicide bombings, and famine. The
political situation of the country has played a major role in the destruction of Yemen’s infrastructure
and goes to show that political stability, healthcare, and the well-being are extremely interconnected.
The fighting is still happening today; hopefully, the people of Yemen will have justice and peace come
their way soon.
with deaths not just from diphtheria, but also from war crimes, suicide bombings, and famine. The
political situation of the country has played a major role in the destruction of Yemen’s infrastructure
and goes to show that political stability, healthcare, and the well-being are extremely interconnected.
The fighting is still happening today; hopefully, the people of Yemen will have justice and peace come
their way soon.
Diphtheria in Yemen:
General info about the Yemen Civil War:
For the delegation of Morocco, it is absolutely necessarily to help the nearly 75% of the population in need of humanitarian aid, especially after Saudi Arabia imposed an import restriction, thus worsening the situation. Yemen imports 85% of its food, medicine, and fuel. For this reason, Morocco encourages Saudi Arabia to allow humanitarian aid into the country.
ReplyDeleteDue to Botswana's growing governmental stability and aide, we fully support the additional involvement in humanitarian support. In fact, we believe in instituting financial aide and infrastructure. Yemen is heavily involved in trade exports. Because of this, it is extremely important for developed nations to take a larger role in resolving the issue.
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