Pandemic has killed 97 medical workers in Yemen

A humanitarian group says 97 medical workers in Yemen have died of the coronavirus, the first reliable estimate to give a glimpse into the pandemic's impact on the devastated health sector in the war-torn country. The country's health system is in shambles after five years of war that has spawned the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

A humanitarian group says 97 medical workers in Yemen have died of the coronavirus, the first reliable estimate to give a glimpse into the pandemic's impact on the devastating health sector in the war-torn country. The report by MedGlobal relies on accounts from Yemeni doctors tracking the deaths of colleagues to gauge the toll of the virus. The 97 dead include infectious disease experts, medical directors, midwives, and pharmacists.

Even before the pandemic, Yemen had just 10 doctors for every 10,000 people. The country's health system is in shambles after five years of war that has spawned the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Half of its medical facilities are dysfunctional. Yemen's internationally recognized government has reported 1,674 confirmed coronavirus infections and 469 deaths.