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Responding to #Covid-19 countries are enforcing forms of physical distancing (PD). Replicating this in #Yemen isn't easy. We need a contextual approach to ensure the benefits outweigh the risks to any measures applied. This thread presents 11 challenges/risks to PD in Yemen:
How do you mitigate impact to the poorest from PD? State revenues are fragmented by conflict & emerging regions ruling out any fiscal options. Thus far donor assistance has focused on vital medical supplies. Scaling up cash4works, cash4nutrition, support to MSMEs is vital too.
Most Yemeni workers leave their homes on a daily basis to earn hand to mouth in the informal economy. The country's social protection system is too narrow and under developed to support them. We need to broaden social protection in Yemen.
Linked to above, recent @MSF_Yemen report shows most deaths occurring are urban males aged 40 – 60. If this trend continues many families will be losing their bread-winners. Are men more vulnerable to covid-19? Will this expand how we define the vulnerable in #Yemen?
With an estimated 30-day supply of food in local markets any rapid enforcement of PD will price out the poor as a small middle class stocks up on supplies. A lockdown of greater than 2 weeks will impact everyone further worsening nutrition for millions.
So far the spread of the virus is urban. During the Eid break hundreds of thousands have traveled to villages. Yemen's natural PD is 70% of its population dispersed in over 36,000 villages. Has Eid caused a rural spread of the virus? If so, would PD now make any sense?
If people are asked to practice PD would they be able to do so? 3.6 million internally dispersed, 281,000 refugees, & the dwellers of overcrowded urban slumps are estimated at 5.4 million.
Average family size approx 7 is one of the largest in the world. Yemeni households are multigenerational - social protection for the elderly is the family. Rather than a blanket PD, would supporting families to enact tailored 'shielding' of their vulnerable be more effective?
How do you enforce PD in a conflict state? Should all sides agree to PD first so that its applied across the entire country? Or do we live with a less effective lopsided approach? I wonder if the @OSE_Yemen has held a zoom talk to discuss this with the conflicting parties?
Many countries have focused on the 'peak' & flattening the curve primarily to protect healthcare systems. Given the state of Yemen's healthcare is this approach appropriate. Is it the duration of the pandemic and its secondary impacts that will hurt Yemen more than the peak?
