In a follow-up to the cholera crisis in Yemen, officials with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have reported 11,000 suspected cases, including 184 deaths since Apr. 27.
These numbers are up dramatically from the 2752 suspected cases and 51 deaths reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) on May 11.
The devastating outbreak prompted Yemen’s Shiite Houthi rebels to declare a state of emergency in the capital city of Sana’a.
The ongoing, fierce conflict in the country has left 18.8 million people in need of humanitarian assistance and placed overwhelming strain on the country’s health system.
Key infrastructure, including water and sanitation facilities, are collapsing, contributing to the spread of diarrheal disease. The weather is also playing a role: the pathogens that cause cholera are more likely to spread in warmer weather and recent heavy rains have washed piles of uncollected waste into water sources.
WHO has rapidly distributed medicines and medical supplies, including cholera kits, oral rehydration solutions and intravenous (IV) fluids as well as medical furniture and equipment for diarrhea treatment centres. Ten new treatment centres are being established in affected areas.
Since the start of the war, at least 4,773 civilians have been killed and another 8,272 injured by the violence, according to the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights.
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