Cholera case count nears 100,000 in Yemen

Just a few days ago, UNICEF Regional Director, Geert Cappelaere, upon return from a visit to Yemen said the number of suspected cases is expected to reach 130,000 within the next two weeks.

Today, posted on the World Health Organization (WHO) office in Yemen’s Twitter page are the most up-to-date numbers from the tragedy in the country.

“Cholera outbreak continues to be a major health concern in Yemen. Over 96,200 suspected cholera cases and 746 deaths have been reported.”

This number is the cases and fatalities registered in this “second wave” of  cholera since Apr. 27 this year.

Last week alone, more than 25,000 cases were reported. More than 80 percent of the governorates have reported cholera, with most cases being reported in the west.

The four most affected governorates were Amanat Al Asimah, Hajjah, Amran, and Al Hudaydah, accounting for more than half of all cases.

An Anadolu Agency report states:

Impoverished Yemen has remained in a state of civil war since 2014, when the Houthis and their allies overran much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.

In 2015, Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a massive air campaign aimed at reversing Houthi military gains and shoring up Yemen’s embattled government.

According to UN officials, more than 10,000 people have been killed in the conflict to date, while more than 11 percent of the country’s population has been displaced as a direct result of the conflict.

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