Yemen Crisis Response
By: Farheen Jamshed
2020 has been a notoriously difficult year for many. For many of us premedical students, living in the era of a pandemic has likely been our most difficult experience to date. It seemed like many of us were just going about our day-to-day lives when the coronavirus pandemic took over and everyone’s lives changed.
We wish we could go back to the “pre-COVID era”; for many people around the world, however, the pre-COVID era was far from perfect, and the introduction of a global pandemic only exacerbated issues.
In Yemen, a country that has faced famine, war, and now a pandemic, things are only getting worse. The United Nations has declared that Yemen is facing the most critical humanitarian crisis in the world; moreover, vulnerable populations like women and children are at the highest risk of facing life-threatening health outcomes like severe malnutrition.2 War conflicts escalated in Yemen in 2015, and the country’s population has been in constant danger since then.3 Infectious diseases like cholera, the Chikungunya virus, and others are circulating the country, overwhelming the nation’s healthcare system.1 More recently, the introduction of COVID-19 to the country is projected to cause higher mortality in the city of Aden than wartime casualties during the entirety of 2015.1 An overwhelmed healthcare system is no stranger to Yemen, but the recent pandemic has exhausted the country’s resources.
With your assistance, AMWA can help.
AMWA’s mission is to “advocate for equity, and provide excellence in healthcare” — it is our responsibility to provide aid during this crisis. With your help, we can make a small difference by donating medical supplies and easing some of the difficulties currently endured by our Yemeni friends.
There are a number of ways to help.
- Donate to our fundraiser.
- The AMWA Premedical Division is launching a donation-based fundraiser to support Yemen’s fight against COVID-19. We have partnered with Yemen Aid to allocate your generously donated funds. Your donations will provide medical supplies, PPE, and hygiene kits to the Yemeni population. Yemen Aid is one of the few organizations that donates 100% of all funds to Yemeni people and toward ending the country’s devastating crisis.
- This fundraiser has been generously organized through AMWA’s philanthropic branch, the American Women’s Hospitals Service (AWHS). AWHS was established in 1917 to relieve suffering through medical care and to advance women in the medical profession. To learn more about AWHS, please visit https://www.amwa-doc.org/our-work/american-womens-hospital-services/.
- If you are willing to donate to this important cause, please visit https://www.facebook.com/donate/310370740050798/. AMWA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and donations to this cause are tax-deductible.
- Sign petitions.
- If you are unable to provide financially, there are still ways to help! Supportive communities have created countless petitions to ease Yemen’s crisis in various forms. Check out these link collections to access helpful information, petitions, and news articles:
AMWA thrives because of involved members like you. Through your actions, AMWA continues to strive toward its mission. We appreciate you and thank you for your support.
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