Yemen Cholera Crisis: Cases Triple in Al-Hudaydah after Saudi-UAE Attack

Local Editor

Suspected cholera cases in Yemen have almost tripled in the coastal city of al-Hudaydah since the Saudi Arabia-UAE coalition launched a military offensive in June to retake the area, a rights group reported.

Health facilities across the governorate recorded a 170 percent increase in the number of suspected cholera cases, from 497 in June to 1,342 in August, the London-based NGO Save the Children said in a report.

The group further noted that the spike was in line with national data that also showed a steady increase of suspected cholera cases across Yemen.

Thirty percent of all suspected cases are children under five years old, according to the World Health Organization.

"The situation in al-Hudaydah has become unbearable because of the conflict. I'm seeing more and more children coming in with suspected cholera," Mariam Aldogani, Save the Children's al-Hudaydah field manager, said.

According to the group, a series of air raids in late July resulted in the damage of a sanitation facility and water station that supplies al-Hudaydah with most of its water.

Suspected cholera cases almost doubled in the aftermath of the incident, rocketing from 732 in July to 1,342 in August.

In a recent UN survey of more than 2,000 respondents across Yemen, more than half [56 percent] cited water supply damage as the most common form of infrastructure damage. In al-Hudaydah governorate this jumped to 62 percent of respondents.

"Children in Yemen are experiencing severe hardships that no child should endure, facing multiple threats from bombs and bullets to disease and extreme hunger," said Tamer Kirolos, Save the Children's Yemen country director.

"Treating cholera is straightforward, provided children can get the rehydration and antibiotics they need, and hospitals and clinics are adequately equipped. But nearly four years of conflict has led to a near-total collapse of the health system in Yemen."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team