Cry, my beloved Yemen Register for Covid-19 vaccine online and via hotline
World’s largest emergency gets neglected again
MONDAY was a day of hope for the United Nations. Its secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, took to the mic at the virtual conference co-hosted by Sweden and Switzerland, appealing for funds to help alleviate the Yemeni humanitarian crisis. The world took only 24 hours to disappoint Guterres, and with him, the long-suffering Yemenis. Of the US$3.85 billion appealed for, the UN only received US$1.7 billion, missing the target by US$2 billion. According to online portal Arab News, the amount raised even falls short of what is needed to avoid famine this year. The World Food Programme’s chief David Beasley calculates this to be US$1.9 billion. Jan Egeland, secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, drove home the danger of the difference in donation in its website thus: “The shortfall in humanitarian aid will be measured in lives lost.” We could not have said it better. Egeland says Yemen needs three things: money that can be used now, ceasefire and full access to people in need. We agree. Take money first. The world is not, by any measure, poor. True, Covid-19 is tearing at even rich nations’ purse strings. But the shortfall is a meagre US$2 billion. And it is very affordable to the top 20 rich countries that made the Global Finance 2020 list. So it is to the world’s richest men. The rich nations and men have an Egeland choice: prevent fullscale famine, or forever have this stain on their consciences.
Ceasefire, too, seems elusive. Many may think that it will be hard to end a war that has been going on for seven long years. They are wrong. The Economist once described the war in Yemen as a pointless war. Most wars are pointless, but this one is especially pointless. How else can a war that wastes more than 100,000 lives be described? Those who die aren’t just soldiers. Bullets and bombs have the unfortunate habit of killing infants, children, women and the aged. Hospitals and schools are targets, too. The UN says of the 28 million Yemenis, 20 million need humanitarian aid. In Guterres’ calculation, two out of every three people in Yemen need food aid, healthcare or other lifesaving support. “More than 16 million people are expected to go hungry this year. Nearly 50,000 Yemenis are already starving to death in famine-like conditions. The worst hunger is in areas affected by the conflict.” Yemen badly needs a ceasefire. Or better still, an end to the conflict. One such signal came from United States President Joe Biden last month. But the problem with superpowers like the US is that they end wars only when it best suits them. Finally, access to humanitarian aid. There may be shortage of food and medicine, but the aid agencies with whatever they have are often not allowed through. Some are even confiscated. The warring parties — the government and its foreign supporters and the rebels and their foreign supporters — have a moral responsibility to ensure that the humanitarian aid gets to the 20 million Yemenis who so desperately need it. After all, aren’t the warring parties fighting over who could guarantee a better future for Yemen. Well, start with getting humanitarian aid to the people who need it. Who knows, it might even help end the war. No difficult science involved here. Just conscience. Having killed some 100,000 Yemenis and maimed some more, the warring parties must not leave the hungry to die of famine.
Most wars are pointless, but this one is especially pointless.
KUALA LUMPUR: Those without smartphones can register for the Covid-19 vaccine via a hotline starting this Friday.
Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, in a reply to a question on Twitter, said people could also register online at www.vaksincovid.gov.my.
Khairy was responding to Twitter user @shyampriah, a member of a non-governmental organisation, who asked the minister if the organisation could submit details and perform the registration for the Covid-19 vaccine on behalf of senior citizens without smartphones and families who were unable to register at the nearest health clinic.
She said the move would help the ministry, the Health Ministry, and communities achieve the targeted percentage of Malaysians being vaccinated.
Currently, registration for the Covid-19 vaccine may be done through the MySejahtera application.
There are five methods to register for the vaccine as listed in the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme handbook.
Other than through the MySejahtera application, hotline and website, people can also register at public and private healthcare facilities, as well as via outreach programmes for rural and interior areas.
On Monday, Khairy said public registration for the vaccine was low, at just 6.1 per cent up to 11am that day.
He said the target was to get 80 per cent of Malaysians vaccinated.
Malaysia embarked on its biggest vaccination programme on Wednesday, with Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah being the earliest recipients of the vaccine.