اليمن: تداعيات جائحة كورونا في زمن الحرب

Abstract EN

Even in its confrontation with COVID-19, Yemen is a special case in various ways – including the fact that the pandemic has struck in the middle of a war ongoing since March 2015, at a time when two different governments are competing for control of the country, its "rentier" economy is stagnating, financial resources are exceedingly limited and health services and amenities have deteriorated dramatically as a result of the conflict.

All of these problems have influenced how Yemen's two governments have dealt with the pandemic as well as its broader fallout.

This paper reviews the spread of coronavirus in Yemen and the measures taken against it, looking in greater depth at the economic, social and political ramifications of the crisis during an ongoing war and under complicated social and political conditions.

It also assesses the opportunities for dealing with the serious flaws in the country's economy.

It concludes that while the effects of the pandemic have been quite limited compared with those of the war, they have exacerbated existing economic, social and political problems and have had a particularly dramatic effect on the health sector and those most reliant on the activities of this sector.