Yemen is reporting 249,900 cases and 861 deaths this year – 35 percent of the global cholera burden and 18 percent of the world’s reported mortality.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Yemen has “the highest burden of cholera” in the world since the outbreak began in March.
In a statement on Monday, the United Nations agency said Yemen had reported 249,900 suspects as of December 1 Cases of cholera and 861 related deaths this year.
According to the WHO, these numbers are responsible for 35 percent of the global cholera burden and 18 percent of the global death toll.
According to the global health agency, the number of cases and deaths reported in November were 37 percent and 27 percent higher than the same month in 2023.
The increase this year was “mainly due to updated data” from Yemen, with adjustments made to take into account more detailed information from all governorates, it said.
“Outbreaks of waterborne diseases such as cholera and acute watery diarrhea place an additional burden on an already strained health system facing multiple disease outbreaks. WHO and humanitarian actors are overwhelmed in their efforts to meet increasing needs due to severe funding constraints,” said Arturo Pesigan, WHO representative and head of mission in Yemen.
The WHO said it was forced to close treatment centers in Yemen due to a $20 million funding gap.
So far, the UN agency has closed 47 diarrheal disease treatment centers and is expected to close another 17 in the impoverished country by the end of the year. The agency will also close an additional 39 oral rehydration centers by the end of the year.
“Lack of access to clean drinking water, poor hygiene practices in the community and limited access to timely treatment further complicate efforts to prevent and control the disease,” Pesigan said.
addressing Cholera in Yemen requires “urgent and comprehensive” interventions in the areas of coordination, surveillance, laboratory capacity, case management, community engagement initiatives, water, sanitation, hygiene and oral cholera vaccination, the agency stressed. Timely and sufficient funding is required for these interventions.
According to the WHO, Yemen has experienced sustained cholera transmissions for many years, including the world’s largest outbreak in recent history from 2017 to 2020 There have been more than 2.5 million cases and 4,000 deaths, according to UNICEF.
According to the WHO there are even four million people suffer from cholera every year worldwide.
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