ICRC: Yemenis receive Ramadan amid misery and ongoing suffering

SANAA, April 23 (YPA) -The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said Thursday that 29 million Yemenis mark Islam’s holy month this year amid ongoing conflict, seasonal diseases, floods and rising prices.

According to the ICRC statement, all this happens in a country where the economic situation doesn’t allow two thirds of the population to access or afford enough food.

The coronavirus threat is also on people’s minds, with one confirmed case in the country of almost 29 million.

Yemen’s health system is fragile and under strain: half of all health facilities are not functioning and just this week 500 cholera cases were reported in 24 hours in one ICRC-supported hospital in the capital Sanaa.

“Ongoing rains and floods in Yemeni provinces have caused misery for thousands of people as a result of the partial destruction of their homes and livelihoods,” said Franz Rauchenstein, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross delegation in Sanaa.

Since mid-March, torrential rains hit several areas of Yemen and is expected to continue in the coming weeks, with earlier UN estimates leading to the displacement of 4,600 families in early April.

E.M

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