Yemen: Cholera cases rise to 147,000

The United Nations reported that cholera cases in Yemen have risen to 147,000 since the beginning of this year 2024.

This was stated by Lisa Dotten, Director of the Financing and Partnerships Division at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, during her speech before the monthly meeting of the UN Security Council on Thursday regarding Yemen.

Dotten reported that the number of suspected cholera cases has reached more than 147,000 across Yemen, a significant increase from the initial estimate that cases would reach 60,000 between April and September 2024.

She added, based on reports from the Health Cluster, that the number of cases has witnessed a significant increase since the beginning of this month, and in this manner, the number of suspected cases is likely to increase, and may reach more than 250,000 cases within a few weeks.

The UN official pointed out that humanitarian partners "have done their utmost to support treatment centers, providing them with medicines, medical equipment, infection control supplies and other resources, and are working to strengthen monitoring and response mechanisms to quickly identify and treat new cases, in addition to improving access to safe water and sanitation services, distributing hygiene supplies, and raising awareness in vulnerable communities."

Dotten pointed out that the epidemic response plan is currently funded by only 60%, which means treating a quarter of the cases, stressing the need to work to prevent the rapid spread of cholera, through sufficient additional funding for the response plan.