The high number of deaths occurring in the Doctors Without Borders COVID-19 treatment center in Aden, Yemen, is signaling a wider catastrophe unfolding in the capital city. Earlier this week, we called on the United Nations and donor states to do more to urgently help the response.
 

The facility, which MSF has been fully managing since May 7, is the only dedicated COVID-19 center for all people living in southern Yemen. Our team is working around the clock to provide the best treatment they can. As in other places around the world, they are witnessing just how deadly this disease can be.

Before the pandemic began, Aden’s health care system was already struggling after five years of war in Yemen. There is no money to pay staff, little of the personal protective equipment (PPE) necessary to keep health workers and patients safe, and very few tests for COVID-19, so the exact numbers of cases is unknown. However, the patients dying clearly show symptoms of COVID-19. Diseases such as malaria, dengue, and chikungunya are endemic to the city but have never produced so many deaths in such a short period of time. Even worse, many patients are arriving at the center already suffering from acute respiratory distress syndrome, suggesting that many more people are sick at home.

“What we are seeing in our COVID-19 treatment center is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the number of people infected and dying in Aden,” said Caroline Seguin, MSF operations manager for Yemen.

MSF is calling for the United Nations and donor states to do more and do it urgently. Money to pay health care workers must be found, and supplies of PPE organized. The country also badly needs more oxygen concentrators to help sick patients breathe. Local authorities also need to do all they can to facilitate the work of organizations like MSF working to respond to the virus, such as ensuring the entry of said medical supplies and international staff to reinforce teams and efforts on the ground.

"We are doing all that we can, but we cannot face this virus alone. It would be unconscionable for the world to just leave Aden and the rest of Yemen to face this crisis by themselves."  

—Caroline Seguin, MSF operations manager for Yemen

MSF’s trauma hospital in Aden is still open and has seen an increase in the number of admissions since other health facilities started closing due to lack of PPE. Our team has instituted triage and other protective measures to keep staff and patients safe at the hospital as much as possible.

Read more about the emerging situation in Yemen at doctorswithoutborders.org.