Recent Flooding Propelling Cholera Outbreak in Yemen
A series of severe storms and subsequent flooding in Yemen is threatening to exacerbate a growing cholera outbreak in a country already devastated by a decade of conflict, medical and humanitarian experts warn.
One clinic in the internationally recognized government-controlled western Yemeni city of Hais, roughly 120 kilometers (75 miles) south of the major Red Sea port city of Hodeida, has seen a surge in suspected cases.
Bakil al-Hadrami, a doctor at the city’s diarrhea treatment center, told AFP this week that the clinic had taken in 530 suspected cholera cases between August 1 and 18, and a “medical crisis” was imminent.
This holiday season, give to:
Truth and understanding
The Media Line's intrepid correspondents are in Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and Pakistan providing first-person reporting.
They all said they cover it.
We see it.
We report with just one agenda: the truth.
In Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the region, cholera is endemic, and over half of the population already requires humanitarian assistance.
As of August 10, the United Nations Children’s Agency (UNICEF) has reported upwards of 160,000 suspected cases and almost 650 deaths this year alone, warning that number could rise to 250,000 in the coming weeks.
The country experienced the “worst cholera outbreak in recent history” from 2016 to 2022, which saw 2.5 million cases and upwards of 4,000 deaths, according to the UN’s migration agency.
In conflict zones prone to flooding, such as Yemen and Sudan, containing the spread of waterborne diseases like cholera becomes increasingly challenging due to the overcrowding of facilities with war-related casualties and the potential for violence from combatants.
According to UNICEF, cholera is more prevalent in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen due to strict information control and threats of abduction against aid workers.
