COVID-19 in Yemen: A day in the life of Muna
In the Al Sha’ab camp in Aden, 10-year-old Muna shows the world how she’s trying to stay safe from the coronavirus.
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Ten-year-old Muna Zayed is one of around 1.7 million internally displaced children in Yemen, the world’s largest humanitarian emergency. The situation in Yemen is dire, and the need to reduce the additional strain of coronavirus spreading is urgent.
Muna lives with her family in Al Sha’ab camp in Aden, in the south of the country, after ongoing fighting forced them to flee their home in Taiz. Muna’s school is closed as part of efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19. But she still wants to show the world what her day looks like.
Muna's diary
How Muna and her family are staying safe from COVID-19
Muna walks with a school friend to the camp’s main water tank to collect clean water for washing and cooking.
On the way, they stop at the main bathrooms in the camp, so Muna can wash her face. She says residents try to keep the bathrooms clean to reduce the risk of catching coronavirus.
Muna says she tries to collect water when there are less people around, so it’s less likely that COVID-19 will spread.
“I hope corona never comes to us.”
Muna’s cousin brings some vegetables to the family’s home, so she cleans them carefully before cutting them up for cooking to help her mother prepare lunch.
“I’m happy that I’m with my family.”
Muna says she knows it’s important that people wash their hands regularly to help prevent COVID-19 from spreading. Residents in the camp don’t always have soap, but they still try to wash their hands thoroughly.
UNICEF has been scaling up preparedness and response programmes across Yemen, including providing clean water to communities in need, and distributing basic hygiene kits – containing soap, towels, buckets and jerry cans – to empower and enable internally displaced families across the country to protect themselves.
Across Yemen, UNICEF and partners have also reached more than half a million people with information on physical distancing through house-to-house visits, and is aiming to reach thousands of health workers with sensitization sessions on COVID-19.
