First delivery of COVID-19 vaccine arrives in Yemen

The representative of the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) to Yemen has confirmed that the country received the first delivery of COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday.

Philippe Duamelle, a UNICEF representative to Yemen, said the first shipment of anti-virus jabs against the novel pathogen has arrived at the airport of Aden, on 31 March 2021.

The war-torn nation received medical assistance one week after the country’s COVID committee warned of a public health “emergency”, MEMO has learned.

“Yemen received 360,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses shipped via the Covax facility,” the UNICEF statement reads.

Thanks to the WHO-backed global scheme COVAX to provide drugs to countries in need, Yemeni people got the first batch is part of 1.9 million doses against the corona disease. “The arrival of the COVID-19 vaccine doses is a critical moment for Yemen,” the UN health body added.

While Yemen now has the capacity to protect those most at risk, including health workers, the nation can safely continue to provide life-saving interventions for children and families, said Adham Ismail, WHO representative in the country. Earlier, the UN has warned Yemen is now experiencing the worst-ever humanitarian crisis in the history of a planet.