"Low Immunization Rates"... UN Warns of Alarming Number of Mutated Polio Virus Cases in Yemen

The World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned on Thursday that Yemen is still facing an outbreak of the mutant polio virus, noting that 273 cases have been reported over the past three years amid an ongoing humanitarian crisis and low immunization rates.

“On World Polio Day, data shows that polio continues to threaten the lives of many children in Yemen, as it can cause irreversible paralysis or death, but it can be prevented with vaccination. This comes at a time when children in Yemen are facing outbreaks of other diseases such as cholera, diphtheria and malnutrition,” the organization and the fund said in a statement.

The statement added, "In Yemen, which remained polio-free until 2020, national polio immunization rates declined from 58 percent in 2022 to 46 percent in 2023 due to the fragility of the health system and the social, political and security crisis."

“The poliovirus type 2 outbreak in Yemen continues amidst other health emergencies, further straining an already overstretched health system,” said Dr Arturo Pesigan, WHO Representative and Head of Mission in Yemen.

“But through collaborative action and tailored strategies that integrate essential health services with polio immunization services, we can strengthen outbreak response and surveillance mechanisms, and make significant progress towards eliminating the spread of variably transmitted poliovirus in Yemen,” he added.

To bridge the immunization gap and combat the increase in polio cases, WHO and UNICEF are collaborating with the Ministry of Health and other partners to reach underserved children and communities. Since 2023, a series of polio immunization campaigns have been conducted.

It also called for strengthening immunization systems to ensure that all children receive essential life-saving vaccines, and providing an integrated package of health services, including the polio vaccine, as well as protecting humanitarian workers and health care workers who provide vaccines.

It is noteworthy that the terrorist Houthi militias had prevented polio vaccination campaigns in areas under their control, which caused the virus to re-emerge and dozens of cases to be recorded in several governorates, most notably Hajjah and Saada, after years of declaring Yemen free of this disease.