Yemen: More than Just Drone Strikes and Al Qaeda

Yemen is in the news these days for all the wrong reasons. According to one account 33 people have been killed in 8 US drone strikes since July 28.

Yemen is clearly a country with many challenges, to put it lightly. It’s the poorest country in the region, recently underwent a political transition after the ouster of its long-time ruler, and is now apparently ground zero for the US drone war.

But despite these multitudes of obstacles, the international community and local partners have found a way to deliver life-saving vaccines to most Yemeni children under 5.

This promotional video from UNICEF gives you a good sense of how it’s done. A small army of dedicated vaccine workers travel by foot, motorcycle–maybe even skateboard– to ensure that vaccines reach children.  The point is that even in some of the most difficult environments, the international community is winning the fight against vaccine preventable diseases like polio.