Yemen Cholera Worst Global Outbreak

The rapidly spreading cholera outbreak in Yemen has exceeded 200,000 suspected cases, increasing at an average of 5,000 a day. 

“We are now facing the worst cholera outbreak in the world,” said Anthony Lake, executive director of UNICEF. In just two months, cholera has spread to almost every governorate of the war-torn country. Already more than 1,300 people have died – one quarter of them children – and the death toll is expected to rise, who.int reported. UNICEF, World Health Organization (WHO) and their partners are racing to stop the acceleration of the deadly outbreak and to reach people with clean water, adequate sanitation and medical treatment. 

Rapid response teams are going house-to-house to reach families with information about how to protect themselves by cleaning and storing drinking water. The deadly cholera outbreak is the direct consequence of two years of Yemen’s civil war. 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. Rising rates of malnutrition have weakened children’s health and made them more vulnerable to disease.