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In the first six months of 2019, Yemen has registered more suspected cholera cases than in the whole of 2018, according to an international humanitarian organization.
A total of 439,812 suspected cases of cholera have been identified to date with approximately 203,000 children among those affected, Save the children I said.
At least 193 children died of cholera-related illnesses this year, the newspaper added. The number of people who died was nine times higher than the same period last year.
Tamer Kirolos, national director of Save the Children in Yemen, said the epidemics were "widespread" in the war-torn country.
"The health system is under considerable stress, with only half of the health facilities functioning while the rest of the facilities remain closed or partially functional," Kirolos said in a statement, adding that cholera had become "endemic" to the health system. Yemen.
The ongoing rainy season is worsening the situation with floods and heavy showers threatening to intensify the spread of water-borne disease.
The bloody war that has lasted years in Yemen has undermined the country's infrastructure in terms of drinking water supply and sanitation, leaving some 9.2 million children without food. access to clean water, said Save the Children.
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War in Yemen: the disease rages in the midst of the crisis of water and wastewater |
The fluctuating availability of fuel, which limits the pumping of wastewater and garbage collection, has made many parts of Yemen fertile ground for infectious diseases.
Malnourished children are particularly vulnerable to cholera-related diseases because of their weakened immune systems.
They are at least three times more likely to die when they contract cholera, whileripped Diseases such as cholera also contribute significantly to malnutrition in Yemen.
"As long as the conflict is raging, drinking water systems are deteriorating and funding for aid in Yemen remains too low.All we can do is try to keep as many children alive as possible, "said Kirolos.
The figures came as the United Arab Emirates said on Monday that they were reducing the number of their troops in war-torn Yemen and moving from a "military first" strategy to a "war-torn" one. first peaceful strategy ".
UAE troops fought as part of a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia against Houthi rebels.
The four-year conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, many of them civilians.
The fighting has triggered what the United Nations describes as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, with millions of people displaced and in need of badistance.
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