Conflict and COVID-19 in Yemen: beyond the humanitarian crisis

Alsabri, Mohammed; Alhadheri, Ayman; Alsakkaf, Luai M.; Cole, Jennifer

doi:10.1186/s12992-021-00732-1

Cited by 26 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…6 Western countries are facing problematic right-wing, white stress, and exposure to violence and conflict. [7][8][9] Health care workers have always been at the forefront of the response to terrorist attacks. Despite that, the effect on them has been very limited in the literature, especially during the "Arab Spring" and the subsequent events.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Terrorist Attacks in the Middle East: A Counter-Terrorism Medicine Analysis

Tin

Fares

Mulhim

et al. 2022

Prehosp. Disaster med.

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Background: The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has been, like many parts of the world, a hotbed for terrorist activities. Terrorist attacks can affect both demand for and provision of health care services and often places a unique burden on first responders, hospitals, and health systems. This study aims to provide an epidemiological description of all terrorism-related attacks in the Middle East sustained from 1970-2019. Methods: Data collection was performed using a retrospective database search through the Global Terrorism Database (GTD). The GTD was searched using the internal database search functions for all events which occurred in Iraq, Yemen, Turkey, Egypt, Syria, West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel, Lebanon, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, North Yemen, Qatar, and South Yemen from January 1, 1970 - December 31, 2019. Primary weapon type, primary target type, country where the incident occurred, and number of deaths and injuries were collated and the results analyzed. Results: A total of 41,837 attacks occurred in the Middle East from 1970-2019 accounting for 24.9% of all terrorist attacks around the world. A total of 100,446 deaths were recorded with 187,447 non-fatal injuries. Fifty-six percent of all attacks in the region occurred in Iraq (23,426), 9.4% in Yemen (3,929), and 8.2% in Turkey (3,428). “Private Citizens and Properties” were targeted in 37.6% (15,735) of attacks, 15.4% (6,423) targeted “Police,” 9.6% targeted “Businesses” (4,012), and 9.6% targeted “Governments” (4,001). Explosives were used in 68.4% of attacks (28,607), followed by firearms in 20.4% of attacks (8,525). Conclusion: Despite a decline in terrorist attacks from a peak in 2014, terrorist events remain an important cause of death and injuries around the world, particularly in the Middle East where 24.9% of historic attacks took place. While MENA countries are often clustered together by economic and academic organizations based on geographical, political, and cultural similarities, there are significant differences in terrorist events between countries within the region. This is likely a reflection of the complexities of the intricate interplay between politics, culture, security, and intelligence services unique to each country.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Terrorist Attacks in the Middle East: A Counter-Terrorism Medicine Analysis

Tin

Fares

Mulhim

et al. 2022

Prehosp. Disaster med.

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“…39 Acute challenges include “[u]nsafe shelters, persistent migration and displacement, lack of essential medicines, inadequate food and insufficient access to safe drinking water, suppressed immunity among the malnourished population” and that many areas of the country lack the lower limit of hygiene standards. These are optimal conditions for the rampant spread of infectious diseases, 9 making preventing and combating infectious diseases more challenging in Yemen than elsewhere.…”

Section: Methods and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The continued instability caused by the pandemic enables terrorist groups to continue their operations, 7 threatens financial collapse, 8 and causes the absence of government protections. 9 Even before the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic reached Yemen, widespread repercussions of the ongoing war had proved devastating: Yemen is one of the poorest countries not only in the Middle East but in the entire world. 10 The population has been left to fend for itself as Yemenis face severe hunger, outbreaks of infectious diseases, unattended acute and chronic diseases, and lack of basic healthcare infrastructure.…”

Section: How Does This Improve Population Health?mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Chronic Health Crises and Emergency Medicine in War-torn Yemen, Exacerbated by the COVID-19 Pandemic

Alsabri

Alsakkaf

Alhadheri

et al. 2022

WestJEM

Self Cite

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Introduction: Much of Yemen’s infrastructure and healthcare system has been destroyed by the ongoing civil war that began in late 2014. This has created a dire situation that has led to food insecurity, water shortages, uncontrolled outbreaks of infectious disease and further failings within the healthcare system. This has greatly impacted the practice of emergency medicine (EM), and is now compounded by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic. Methods: We conducted a systematic review of the current state of emergency and disaster medicine in Yemen, followed by unstructured qualitative interviews with EM workers, performed by either direct discussion or via phone calls, to capture their lived experience, observations on and perceptions of the challenges facing EM in Yemen. We summarize and present our findings in this paper. Results: Emergency medical services (EMS) in Yemen are severely depleted. Across the country as a whole, there are only 10 healthcare workers for every 10,000 people – less than half of the WHO benchmark for basic health coverage – and only five physicians, less than one third the world average; 18% of the country’s 333 districts have no qualified physicians at all. Ambulances and basic medical equipment are in short supply. As a result of the ongoing war, only 50% of the 5056 pre-war hospitals and health facilities are functional. In June 2020, Yemen recorded a 27% mortality rate of Yemenis who were confirmed to have COVID-19, more than five times the global average and among the highest in the world at that time. Conclusion: In recent years, serious efforts to develop an advanced EM presence in Yemen and cultivate improvements in EMS have been stymied or have failed outright due to the ongoing challenges. Yemen’s chronically under-resourced healthcare sector is ill-equipped to deal with the additional strain of COVID-19.

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“…To make matters worse, this pandemic has further left Yemen in shambles. 16 More than 11, 781 cases have been reported in Yemen till 10th March 20,22. 17 All of this led to many problems including financial constraints, lack of basic necessities, and a sub-standard healthcare system.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%