01 Apr 2021; MEMO: War-torn Yemen received its first shipment of the COVID-19 vaccine yesterday, UNICEF said, one week after the country's coronavirus committee warned of a public health "emergency".
"Yemen received 360,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses shipped via the Covax facility," UNICEF said in a statement, referring to the World Health Organisation-backed global scheme to provide jabs to countries in need.
"This first batch is part of 1.9 million doses that Yemen will initially receive throughout 2021," it added.
"The arrival of the COVID-19 vaccine doses is a critical moment for Yemen," Philippe Duamelle, UNICEF representative to Yemen, said.
"As COVID-19 continues to claim lives around the world, Yemen now has the capacity to protect those most at risk, including health workers, so that they can safely continue to provide life-saving interventions for children and families," he added.
Adham Ismail, WHO representative in Yemen, said the vaccine shipment was a significant step forward.
"It will help save lives, including of those at highest risk of serious disease, and will help protect the health system," Ismail said.
"These safe and effective vaccines will be a game changer, but for the foreseeable future we must continue wearing masks, physically distance and avoid crowds."
Impoverished Yemen has been beset by violence and chaos since 2014, when the Houthis overran much of the country, including the capital, Sanaa. The crisis escalated in 2015 when a Saudi-led military coalition launched a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi territorial gains.
The war, in which the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK) back the Saudi-led coalition, has killed more than 100,000 people and pushed millions to the brink of famine, according to the United Nations (UN) official data.
The UN has warned the country is now experiencing the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
