Fearing the consequences of coronavirus

“We are scared of coronavirus but we are also worried that we will lose our food aid if corona spreads in Yemen,” says Ehsan, who is in his late 50s. Covid-19 is instilling fear in Yemenis who depend on humanitarian aid to survive. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is rapidly adapting its distributions to ensure that it can continue to operate safely amidst the crisis.

Ehsan Saeed Al-Aghbari is in his late 50s and is the father of five children. He used to work as a building labourer and made enough money to support his family. But all this changed in one moment three years ago.

Whilst walking home in Sana’a’s Azal district, he was hit by a car. He was knocked unconscious and taken to hospital.

Once Ehsan recovered consciousness he returned home. But the damage caused by his accident would stay with him forever. After spending two years in recovery, he now struggles to walk. This means that he is unable to work and provide for this family. He depends on humanitarian aid and other people’s generosity to support his family.

“I’m a disabled man and cannot work,” Ehsan says. “I depend on the aid that I receive from NRC and what I get from generous people.”

Ehsan Saeed Al-Aghbari, in his late 50s, is the breadwinner for his family of 7. He used to work as a building laborer and managed to make enough money to support his family.
Three years ago, while he was walking in the street on his way back to his house in Sana’a’s Azal district, he had a car accident. He fainted and was taken to hospital.
Once Ehsan recovered consciousness he returned home, “The driver who was responsible for the accident paid the cost of the treatment. I spent two years lying in bed, nowadays I can hardly walk,” Ehsan says.
As a result of the accident he is no longer able to work or provide his family with food and other basics. He depends on humanitarian aid and the generosity of other people to support his family.
“I’m a disabled man and cannot work. Even those who are in a good health can’t find work nowadays,” Ehsan says. “I depend on the aid that I receive from the Norwegian Refugee Council and what I get from generous people.”
When Ehsan heard about measures being introduced to combat COVID-19, he was worried that he would no longer receive food, especially after the closure of schools and Universities and other restrictions being introduced in Yemen.
“Usually the food distribution points are overcrowded. When I heard that the authorities had closed schools, I was worried that we would not be able to receive food.
“I asked my neighbors and they told me that we will continue to receive food aid but that precautionary measures to protect people from coronavirus will be taken.”
Ehsan didn’t believe his neighbours until NRC started to distribute the food vouchers in the capital Sana’a with the support of the World Food Programme.
“Coronavirus is very dangerous and we hear that advanced countries are struggling to fight it so we are scared of this disease which spreads in a dramatic way,” Ehsan adds.
“When I arrived at the distribution point to receive my food voucher, I found the place to be well organised and felt safe. There are had sanitizers at the main gate of the school and there is distance between people in the que.”
Ehsan is an elderly man. He suffers from a disability and is worried more than others as he heard that the elderly and people with pre-existing health conditions are more at risk of contracting the virus.
“We are scared of Coronavirus but we are also worried that we will lose our food aid if corona spreads in Yemen,” Ehsan says. “I hope that NRC continues to help us with food even if corona hits Yemen.”
“If corona doesn’t kill us, we will starve to death inside our houses. Millions of Yemeni’s will still rely on receiving food aid if corona hits Yemen.”
An estimated 80 per cent of the population – 24 million people – require some form of humanitarian or protection assistance, including 14.3 million who are in acute need, according to United Nations Office for the Coordination of the Humanitarian Affairs.
Ehsan did not receive proper healthcare when he had his car incident. He does not believe that the health system in Yemen is equipped to treat people with Corona.
“Precautionary measures to protect against corona are very important as the health system in Yemen has already collapsed. We hope that people take the precautionary measures into consideration.”
The delivery of health care services has been strained by fewer functional health facilities (only about 51% are functional) with the others being partially or fully damaged, according to the World Health Organization.

Photo and text: Nasser Abdulkareem/NRC — Ehsan is worried about the consequences if Covid-19 spreads in his war-torn country. Photo: Nasser Abdulkareem/NRC

The pandemic

World Health Organization (WHO) declared Covid-19 a global pandemic on 11 March 2020. With many countries across the globe struggling to contain the virus, an outbreak in a war-torn country like Yemen would be devastating.

Authorities and humanitarian organisations are putting measures in place to prevent further catastrophe for the Yemeni population. All flights to Yemen, including humanitarian flights, have been suspended until further notice in an attempt to control infections. Road travel within Yemen is also limited and all schools and universities have been closed.

When Ehsan heard about the measures being introduced he worried that he would no longer receive food aid.

“Usually the food distribution points at local schools are overcrowded. When I heard that the authorities had closed schools, I was worried that we would not be able to receive food.”

“My neighbours told me that we would continue to receive food aid, with precautionary measures to protect people from coronavirus, but I didn’t believe this was true.”

His belief changed when he saw NRC distributing food vouchers in the capital Sana’a, with the support of the World Food Programme.

Preventative measures

“When I arrived at the distribution point to receive my food voucher, I found the place to be well organised and I felt safe. There are hand sanitisers at the main gate of the school and there is distance between people in the queue.”

NRC’s Yemen team is taking precautionary measures to prevent COVID-19 so both the people we are supporting and our staff can stay safe. During food voucher distributions in Sana’a, our teams make sure the distance between people at queues is at least one meter.

Photo: Nasser Abdulkareem/NRC — NRC is taking precautionary measures to prevent Covid-19 spreading, so that both the people we are supporting and our staff can stay safe. During food voucher distributions in Sana’a, our teams make sure the distance between people in queues is at least one metre in line with WHO guidance. Photo: Nasser Abdulkareem/NRC

As an older man who suffers from a disability, Ehsan is worried what catching the virus would mean for his own health. But he is also concerned that restrictions on movement and other measures to combat Covid-19 will cut off his access to aid which he relies on to feed his large family.

“We are scared of coronavirus but we are also worried that we will lose our food aid if it spreads in Yemen,” Ehsan says. “I hope that NRC can continue to help us with food.”

“If coronavirus doesn’t kill us, we will starve to death inside our houses. Millions of Yemenis will still need food aid if coronavirus hits Yemen.”

A vulnerable population

An estimated 80 per cent of Yemen’s population – 24 million people – require some form of humanitarian or protection assistance, including 14.3 million who are in acute need, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of the Humanitarian Affairs.

Ehsan did not receive proper health care when he had his accident. He does not believe that the health system in Yemen is equipped to treat people with Covid-19.

“Precautionary measures to protect against coronavirus are very important as the health system in Yemen has already collapsed. I hope that people follow these measures,” Ehsan says.

Health care services have been strained because there are fewer health facilities than there used to be. It is estimated that only 51 per cent of health facilities in Yemen are currently functional, with others partially or completely damaged by the war, according to WHO.

Although there are no confirmed case of COVID-19 in Yemen, NRC’s Yemen team uses posters and brochures to raise awareness about COVID-19 at our aid distribution sites so that people can take precautionary measures.

Photo: Nasser Abdulkareem/NRC — NRC is using posters and brochures to raise awareness about the virus at our aid distribution sites so that people can take precautionary measures. Photo: Nasser Abdulkareem/NRC

Continuing to meet needs of the vulnerable

Mohammed Al-Afeef supervises the distribution of food vouchers for NRC in the Capital Sana’a.

“We have placed hand sanitisers at the main gate, and work to ensure people sterilise their hands when they come to collect their vouchers and when they leave.

“We also ensure that there is at least a one metre distance between people in the queues, and we divide people coming to receive vouchers into smaller groups, and organise the distributions over several days.

“We have also put up posters on the walls at distribution points to raise awareness about coronavirus and how to take precautions,” Mohammed says. “The distributions are going well and as we planned.”

Mohammed Al-Afeef, supervises the distribution of food vouchers in Azal point for NRC in the Capital Sana’a.
“We put hand sanitizers at the main gate, and work with the committees distributing vouchers to people to ensure people sterilize their hands when they come to collect their vouchers and when they leave.
“We also ensure that there is at least one meter between people in the queues, and we divide people coming to receive vouchers in to smaller groups, and organise the distributions over several days.”
“NRC puts up posters on the walls at distribution points to raise the awareness about coronavirus and how to take precautions,” Mohammed says. “The distribution has gone well and as we planned.”
Mohammed confirmed that the conditions of beneficiaries are very difficult, stating that some families completely depend on this food aid to survive.

Photo: Nasser Abdulkareem/NRC — Mohammad is pleased that food distributions are able to continue safely at this challenging time. Photo: Nasser Abdulkareem/NRC

Mohammed confirms that the conditions for displaced people are extremely difficult, with some families completely dependent on food aid to survive. It is vital for us to continue our work so that Ehsan and thousands of others can continue to survive at this challenging time.

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