#Thread: Though it's important to shed light on the ongoing humanitarian crisis in #Yemen, you could read this entire @reuters article (and most articles written about Yemen) and not know why this boy is starving or who is responsible for these conditions:

The boy travelled from Al-Jawf to Sana'a because al-Jawf is among "high intensity battlefronts" & is the target of repeated civilian airstrikes. https://t.co/1KlIN5ixTf

Also, roads are "damaged" because they're frequently bombed by US/Saudi airstrikes: https://t.co/0a8XFCQEsH
Shockingly, he's one of the lucky ones who managed to make it to a hospital.

Only 51% of health facilities are (barely) functioning: https://t.co/GBgKXM562t

And hospitals have been frequently targeted by airstrikes: For example: https://t.co/3Uto5dCKYE
International aid & donations are necessary for Faid & millions to survive because of the Saudi/US/UAE blockade that prevents Yemenis from trade and makes them reliant on aid instead. Before the war, Yemen imported 90% of its food; now, 80% rely on aid. https://t.co/iVF4fYAfAW
Famine hasn't been declared because the UN faces immense pressure from its top donors, the US & Saudi, who are also causing the famine in Yemen.

The US went as far as pressuring the UN to restrict aid to Northern Yemen, where 70% of Yemenis live: https://t.co/6Fk95cUkB9
Speaking of donors, "significant underfunding of the 2020 aid response" is due to Saudi & UAE not fulfilling their pledges.

"Those who. made the largest pledges...have so far paid only a modest proportion of what they promised." - @UNReliefChief

https://t.co/KNgQCoOO8G
Now, the Trump administration may designate the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization, which would result in mass deaths: https://t.co/crLXjskWPp
I've said this for years, but in the case of Yemen, there's significant underreporting & misreporting. Read almost any article about #Yemen and you'll be confused about the agents & the causes.

@AkbarSAhmed's recent article is an exception. Please read it https://t.co/jIqso2dT4B
6 years into the US/Saudi war, most US-Americans still don't know that our government (under Obama & Trump) provides the weapons Saudi & UAE use, helps impose the blockade that's starving Yemenis, trains Saudi & UAE forces, & so much more.

This must stop https://t.co/v4LTwcIqaf
Here's what folks could do to help:
1. Write to your paper to help people understand US complicity
2. Organize with @Jehan_Hakim, @masspeaceaction & others: https://t.co/Lh73ngOJLt
3. Donate: https://t.co/uPutGXfPnt
4. Follow @HassanElTayyab & @ErikSperling for political actions

More from Society

I've seen many news articles cite that "the UK variant could be the dominant strain by March". This is emphasized by @CDCDirector.

While this will likely to be the case, this should not be an automatic cause for concern. Cases could still remain contained.

Here's how: 🧵

One of @CDCgov's own models has tracked the true decline in cases quite accurately thus far.

Their projection shows that the B.1.1.7 variant will become the dominant variant in March. But interestingly... there's no fourth wave. Cases simply level out:

https://t.co/tDce0MwO61


Just because a variant becomes the dominant strain does not automatically mean we will see a repeat of Fall 2020.

Let's look at UK and South Africa, where cases have been falling for the past month, in unison with the US (albeit with tougher restrictions):


Furthermore, the claim that the "variant is doubling every 10 days" is false. It's the *proportion of the variant* that is doubling every 10 days.

If overall prevalence drops during the studied time period, the true doubling time of the variant is actually much longer 10 days.

Simple example:

Day 0: 10 variant / 100 cases -> 10% variant
Day 10: 15 variant / 75 cases -> 20% variant
Day 20: 20 variant / 50 cases -> 40% variant

1) Proportion of variant doubles every 10 days
2) Doubling time of variant is actually 20 days
3) Total cases still drop by 50%

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