WHO index: Yemen is the least prepared country in the world to fight the spread of epidemics

English - Thursday 26 March 2020 الساعة 04:33 pm
Newsyemen, private :

The results of an international report, published recently, revealed that Yemen is the least prepared in the world to contain outbreaks and combat epidemics of a global nature, ranking 190th according to the assessment of the World Health Security Index.

The World Health Security Index, which includes 195 countries around the world, assesses its ability to prevent and alleviate epidemics, and the ranking of the index depends entirely on the data provided by the mentioned countries on its own or data available from it at an international organization.

 A number of countries in the world have recorded cases of coronavirus infection and deaths such as the United States, Canada, Germany, France, Britain and Italy, and all Arab countries except Yemen, Libya and Djibouti.

In August 2016, the Houthi militia stopped health spending in Yemen, paying the salaries of 52 thousand and 723 health workers, and operating expenses, which severely affected the continuity and quality of infectious disease and other health services.

 The UN Humanitarian Crisis Report issued by the United Nations, confirmed the decrease in the number of health facilities and the quality of services, while cases of preventable diseases are on the rise.

The report indicated that about 19.7 million Yemenis lack basic health services, infectious diseases are killing people more than bullets and bombs, and the continued suspension of staff salaries and operating expenses and the lack of medical facilities for patients in need of care exacerbate the situation.

 Sector workers say that the health system needs to allocate additional resources to cope with and stop the spread of epidemics, and this often results in crowding out routine health services for the mother, child, and others, because priority is given to caring for epidemic patients.