Armed conflict alone does not explain the devastation of Yemen’s health system

Alkarim, Tayseer; Abbara, Aula; Attal, Bothaina

doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2020-004740

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…The current armed conflict started in 2014. The country is split into several areas of control with contested borders and multiple local and international regional actors holding different political and ideological stances [ 3 – 6 ]. The protracted armed conflict resulted in targeting civilians, healthcare facilities and personnel, water and sanitation infrastructure, schools, roads and bridges thereby disrupting services and exacerbating poor living conditions experienced before the war [ 5 , 7 – 10 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adult mortality before and during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic in nine communities of Yemen: a key informant study

et al. 2022

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Introduction Widespread armed conflict has affected Yemen since 2014. To date, the mortality toll of seven years of crisis, and any excess due to the COVID-19 pandemic, are not well quantified. We attempted to estimate population mortality during the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods in nine purposively selected urban and rural communities of southern and central Yemen (Aden and Ta’iz governorates), totalling > 100,000 people. Methods Within each study site, we collected lists of decedents between January 2014–March 2021 by interviewing different categories of key community informants, including community leaders, imams, healthcare workers, senior citizens and others. After linking records across lists based on key variables, we applied two-, three- or four-list capture-recapture analysis to estimate total death tolls. We also computed death rates by combining these estimates with population denominators, themselves subject to estimation. Results After interviewing 138 disproportionately (74.6%) male informants, we identified 2445 unique decedents. While informants recalled deaths throughout the study period, reported deaths among children were sparse: we thus restricted analysis to persons aged ≥ 15 years old. We noted a peak in reported deaths during May–July 2020, plausibly coinciding with the first COVID-19 wave. Death rate estimates featured uninformatively large confidence intervals, but appeared elevated compared to the non-crisis baseline, particularly in two sites where a large proportion of deaths were attributed to war injuries. There was no clear-cut evidence of excess mortality during the pandemic period. Conclusions We found some evidence of a peak in mortality during the early phase of the pandemic, but death rate estimates were otherwise too imprecise to enable strong inference on trends. Estimates suggested substantial mortality elevations from baseline during the crisis period, but are subject to serious potential biases. The study highlighted challenges of data collection in this insecure, politically contested environment.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adult mortality before and during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic in nine communities of Yemen: a key informant study

et al. 2022

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“…Nearly 2,50,000 people have died as a direct or indirect result of the conflict during this time, including over 12,000 civilians who were killed in targeted attacks. Additionally, 60% of the deceased are children under the age of five (AlKarim et al, 2021). Early in 2020, the WHO reported that less than 50% of Yemen's medical facilities were fully operational due to the country's ongoing civil war, which was accompanied by seasonal outbreaks of cholera, dengue fever, malaria, chikungunya, and diphtheria (Saleh et al, 2022).…”

Section: Arab and Middle East Unrestmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global conflict escalation during the pandemic, climate, and economic dilemmas: Healthcare sustainability challenges in conflict zones and elsewhere

Mohiuddin

2023

EUR J SUSTAIN DEV RES

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Religion, governance, and politics–as well as related topics such as human rights, justice, and so on–have historically caused many of the world’s most significant conflicts, and they continue to do so because these issues are often the most fundamental in the structure of a society. To gain a military advantage, parties to armed conflicts have polluted water, burned crops, cut down forests, poisoned soils, and killed animals over the years. A variety of context factors, particularly socioeconomic conditions, governance, and political factors, interact and play a key role in translating climate change into conflict risks. The present unrest all over the world risks putting more than half of the countries into a crisis of health, economy, and social safety, which is the biggest threat to human civilization. The security and safety of healthcare facilities, workers, and supply lines remain paramount concerns along with access to health services, technology, and innovation.

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“…Nearly 2,50,000 people have died as a direct or indirect result of the conflict during this time, including over 12,000 civilians who were killed in targeted attacks. In addition, 60% of the deceased were children under the age of five [203].…”

Section: Arab and Middle East Unrestmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global Health Issues With Conflict Escalation Among Pandemic, Climate, and Economic Crises

Mohiuddin

2023

Innovare J H Sci

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Religion, governance, and politics - as well as related topics such as human rights, justice, and so on - have historically caused many of the world’s most significant conflicts, and they continue to do so because these issues are often the most fundamental in the structure of a society. To gain a military advantage, parties to armed conflicts have polluted water, burned crops, cut down forests, poisoned soils, and killed animals over the years. A variety of context factors, particularly socioeconomic conditions, governance, and political factors, interact and play a key role in translating climate change into conflict risks. The present unrest all over the world risks putting more than half of the countries into a crisis of health, economy, and social safety, which remains the most constant threat to human civilization. The security and safety of health-care facilities, workers, and supply lines remain paramount concerns, along with access to health services, technology, and innovation.

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Armed conflict alone does not explain the devastation of Yemen’s health system

Cited by 10 publications

References 1 publication

Adult mortality before and during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic in nine communities of Yemen: a key informant study

Adult mortality before and during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic in nine communities of Yemen: a key informant study

Global conflict escalation during the pandemic, climate, and economic dilemmas: Healthcare sustainability challenges in conflict zones and elsewhere

Global Health Issues With Conflict Escalation Among Pandemic, Climate, and Economic Crises

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