Yemen cholera outbreak 2019: More cases than all of last year

July 9, 2019

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Cholera cases have picked up dramatically in Yemen in 2019, in fact, during the first six months of this year, the total cholera cases are more than all of 2018.

According to official data, Yemen saw 371,326 cholera cases, including 505 deaths in all of 2018. During the first six months (Jan. 1- Jun 30) this year, the total is 451,895, including 705 deaths.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), recent flash flooding has accelerated the spread of cholera across Yemen, exacerbated by poor maintenance of waste management systems and lack of access to clean water for drinking or irrigation.

After four years of continuous conflict, the humanitarian crisis in Yemen is the worst in the world. A higher percentage of people face death, hunger and disease than in any other country. The degree of suffering is nearly unprecedented.

Eighty percent of the entire population requires some form of humanitarian assistance and protection, an increase of 84 per cent since the conflict started in 2015. Twenty million Yemenis need help securing food and a staggering 14 million people are in acute humanitarian need.

Since the cholera outbreak began on April 27, 2017, 1,855,309 cases have been recorded. 3456 fatalities are linked to the outbreak.