Blog 3 Yemen

Figure 1. Meyer, Z. (2018, November 21). Yemen: 85,000 children may have died from starvation[Photograph].

Hello everyone and welcome to my BLOG post #3!
 

          

Today I will be focusing on Yemen, a country that joined the United Nations in 1947 (United Nations, n.d). Yemen is located in the Middle East, bordering the Arabian sea, Gulf of Aden and between Oman and Saudi Arabia (CIA, 2018). According to the Central Intelligence Agency, Yemen has a population of about 28,667,230 (CIA, 2018). Their life expectancy is 64 for males and 68 for females, while the United States’ overall life expectancy is 79 years of age (CIA, 2018). Yemen is placed at number 176 in comparison to the rest of the world and since their life expectancy is about 10 years less than the United States, it expresses some concerns and disadvantages in this country.

My SDG is all about health and well-being, which includes child health and maternal deaths. In a recent study, they aimed to measure the Socio-Economic Status (SES) of women, which is a health determinant in this low-middle income country. According to the study, most women are unpaid when they have employment and instead examined the associations between the constructed SES and number of maternal and child health outcomes (Alosaimi, Luoto, Serouri, Nwaru, Mouniri, 2016). Yemen has a maternal mortality rate of 385 deaths/100,000 live births making them number 30 compared to the rest of the world (CIA, 2018). The study concluded that maternal mortality is not influenced by SES, but more by standards of obstetric care. They lack services of essential obstetric procedures like assisted vaginal deliveries, cesarean deliveries, and blood transfusion because they do not have enough trained staff or the appropriate supplies/equipment (Alosaimi…, 2016). Yemen is needing improvement on prenatal and postpartum services as well as an overall increase in public health programs. This issue is clearly still in a developing stage and needs progress, for it is not getting the appropriate attention it deserves.

In 2017, the UNICEF officials called it a year that was horrible for the children of Yemen (SDG, n.d.a). “More than 80 children were killed or injured in December alone, millions face a cholera epidemic...” (SDG, n.d.a). SDG #3 includes concerns on infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases. Yemen has about 9,900 people living with HIV/AIDS and was seen as one of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, for they had restrictions on fuel, food and children faced a triple threat in diseases. They are a high-risk country for major infectious diseases like malaria, typhoid fever, schistosomiasis and especially cholera (CIA, 2018).  Yemen is still a developing country who struggles economically and politically. They still have a long way to go and with the help of organizations like UNICEF, who provide millions of doses of essential vaccines, can get them a head start in bettering this situation.

The last subtopic of SDG #3 is about where the country stands on their health system and funding. There is a health crisis in Yemen and their health care system has been destroyed by years of relentless war. This has caused Yemen to have low supplies, low access to drinking water, sanitation and medical care (SDG, 2017b). According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, “More than half of the people have little access to basic health care, and less than 45% of the hospitals work and the health personnel cannot cope with the needs,” (ICRC, 2018). Compared to the United States, Yemen is still developing in all of these sections of SDG and are in need of more funding and awareness. SDG #3 is a working progress in this country and needs to make it a priority, for many women and children are dying of diseases that should be eradicated with vaccines. They lack so many resources and this issue is not being fully addressed by Yemen. The different organizations helping on the SDG is not enough and the cost to solve the issue is unknown because of it not being a priority.

References

Alosaimi, A., Luoto, R., Al Serouri, A., Nwaru, B., & Mouniri, H. (2016). Measures of Maternal Socioeconomic Status in Yemen and Association with Maternal and Child Health Outcomes. Maternal & Child Health Journal, 20(2), 386–397. https://doi-org.ezp.twu.edu/10.1007/s10995-015-1837-4

CIA. (2018, February 01). The World Factbook: Yemen. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ym.html

ICRC. (2018, March 26). Health crisis in Yemen. Retrieved from https://www.icrc.org/en/where-we-work/middle-east/yemen/health-crisis-yemen

Figure 1. Meyer, Z. (2018, November 21). Yemen: 85,000 children may have died from starvation[Photograph].

SDG. (n.d.a). UNICEF official calls 2017 'horrible' for children in Yemen - United Nations Sustainable Development. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2017/12/unicef-official-calls-2017-horrible-children-yemen/

SDG. (2017 b). UNICEF airlifts six million doses of vaccines to children in Yemen - United Nations Sustainable Development. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2017/12/unicef-airlifts-six-million-doses-vaccines-children-yemen/

United Nations. (n.d.). Growth in United Nations membership, 1945-present. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/en/sections/member-states/growth-united-nations-membership-1945-present/index.html