Cholera could resurge in Yemen: WHO

CAIRO – 4 December 2017: The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Sunday that cholera could resurge in Yemen due to the shortage of fuel delivered to the hospitals and water pumps, as well as the lack of vital aid supply for starved children.

Nevio Zagaria, head of the WHO office in Yemen, told Reuters that the current situation in Yemen would expectedly lead to resurgence of the cholera epidemic in the country by early March 2018.

Eleven districts in Yemen still report high infection rates, although the number of new cases has decreased over the past eleven weeks, Zagaria said.

16% of Yemeni children under five years suffer from severe malnutrition, Zagaria added.
Children represent nearly third of the infected community. According to Save the Children, malnourished children are three times more likely to die if they are infected with cholera due to their weak immune system.

The outbreak of cholera in Yemen took place in 2016. According to a statement from UNICEF's Executive Director Anthony Lake and WHO Director-General Margaret Chan last June, an estimated 14.5 million people are unable to regularly access clean water due to the collapsing water and sanitation systems caused by the war.

Save the Children warned that one million people will be infected with cholera in Yemen by the end of 2017 if current rates persist, 600,000 of which will be children.