Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the capacity of the healthcare system in Yemen to (a) help prevent and (b) respond to the spread of covid-19 in that country.

Following the confirmation that Covid-19 is now present in Yemen, we are extremely concerned by the capacity of the healthcare system in Yemen to prevent and respond to a severe outbreak of COVID-19. Only half of Yemen’s health facilities are currently functioning and almost 20 million people lack access to basic healthcare.

In response to concerns about the healthcare system’s capacity, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) are providing vital equipment across the country, including testing supplies, personal protective equipment and ventilators. Last year, the UK provided £240 million in response to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, with over £42 million supporting the UNICEF. We also recently announced an extra £10 million to the WHO globally, to help prevent the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak in developing countries and we will consider providing additional COVID-19 support to Yemen should further funding be required.