Penny Appeal have launched a new digital campaign entitled #DontDeleteYemen to highlight the plight of Yemeni families who are facing total devastation as the Coronavirus takes hold. 

The campaign, which has been launched through a series of hard-hitting videos and graphics and the circulation of real-life stories, has been shared widely across social media, reaching over 135,000 people on organic social media since its launch last week. 

Inspired by Head of the United Nations Refugee Agency, Nicolas Beuze’s statement that the pandemic is going to cause Yemen to be deleted from maps all over the world, the campaign seeks to inspire action. 

The shocking realisation that an entire nation could be deleted from the map has seen the charity scale-up their support in recent weeks.

The campaign highlights that unless the rest of the world acts now, millions will die, and Yemen will disappear. By launching this campaign, Penny Appeal is raising awareness and calling people to act by donating and advocating for the people of Yemen, before it’s too late. 

The campaign has already raised thousands for Penny Appeal’s Yemen Emergency Response, which was established over six years ago, and has, to date, supported over 82,000 Yemeni people with life-saving healthcare, food and other essential aid. 

The COVID-19 crisis has severely compounded the situation in Yemen, which was already on the brink of famine. 24 million people in Yemen were reported to need humanitarian aid before the pandemic struck.

In addition to providing emergency aid, Penny Appeal has also been funding an Outpatient Department at a medical facility in the country, providing access to long-term medical support for families on the brink of famine.

Zakaria Ahmed is a Yemeni child who was referred to the Outpatient Department at just 8 months old. Suffering with Severe Acute Malnutrition and diarrhoea, Zakaria was given antibiotics and placed on a safe feeding programme until he was healthy enough to go home. To ensure that he continued to receive the support he needed, Penny Appeal funded eight follow-up visits from community visitors and paid for all medical expenses. Zakaria now lives with his mother, who describes his treatment as, “a dream come true.”

n addition to food and hygiene kit distributions, Penny Appeal are distributing PPE and testing kits to Aden State Hospital and 26 Emergency Operation Centres.