The number of cholera cases in Yemen has reached more than 200,000 and is increasing at the rate of 5,000 new cases a day, according to UN agencies.
In a joint statement released late last week, UNICEF and the World Health Organization said that 1,300 people have already died in what is the world’s worst cholera outbreak and a quarter of them have been children.
The organisations said they were now “racing” to stop the disease from spreading. “We are working around the clock to detect and track the spread of disease and to reach people with clean water, adequate sanitation and medical treatment,” they said. “Rapid response teams are going house-to-house to reach families with information about how to protect themselves by cleaning and storing drinking water.”
UNICEF and the WHO said the outbreak is the “direct consequence of two years of heavy conflict”.
“Collapsing health, water and sanitation systems have cut off 14.5 million people from regular access to clean water and sanitation, increasing the ability of the disease to spread,” they said. “Rising rates of malnutrition have weakened children’s health and made them more vulnerable to disease. An estimated 30,000 dedicated local health workers who play the largest role in ending this outbreak have not been paid their salaries for nearly 10 months.”
The organisations urged authorities in the country to pay the salaries of the workers and, “above all”, to end the conflict between government forces, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, and the rebel Houthi movement which now control large parts of the country.
“We urge all authorities inside the country to pay these salaries and, above all, we call on all parties to end this devastating conflict.”
It’s estimated that as many as 18.8 million people, of Yemen’s population of 28 million, need humanitarian assistance. Some seven million are on the brink of famine. Almost 5,000 people have been killed in the war since March, 2015, with a further 8,500 injured, according to the UN.
