Yemen

Yemen has made improvements to its health system in recent years, but it still remains relatively under-developed and under-resourced. A common problem for developing countries, especially so in Yemen, is the scarce health resources in rural areas; only a quarter of rural inhabitants have access, compared to four fifths of urban inhabitants. Emergency services and blood banks do not exist, resulting in preventable loss of life. Furthermore, most childhood deaths are caused by illnesses for which vaccines exist or that are otherwise preventable. Although the levels of government mark-ups on medicines are gradually edging down, tariffs still range from 2.5 - 5%, adding needlessly to the end price for patients. These tariffs also help maintain a significant black market for medicines within Yemen, exacerbating the problem of substandard and counterfeit drugs.