Yemen cholera deaths top 200

17,200 suspected cases of infection found, says Unicef

SANAA // A cholera outbreak in Yemen has killed 209 people in recent weeks, with 17,200 suspected cases across the country, the United Nations children’s agency said yesterday.

Unicef’s Yemen mission said there had been an “alarming increase” in cholera- related deaths.

The agency’s Yemen spokesman, Mohammed Al Asaadi, said 3,000 new suspected cases of cholera were being reported every day.

On Monday, the International Committee of the Red Cross said 184 people had died of the disease since April 27, with 11,000 suspected cases across the country.

Cholera is a contagious bacterial infection spread through contaminated food or water.

Unicef and the ICRC are part of a joint committee, which also includes the World Health Organisation, that co- ordinates with health authorities and relief groups in Sanaa.

Authorities in the capital, which is controlled by Iranbacked Houthi rebels, this week declared a state of emergency over the outbreak, the second in less than a year.

Hospitals are struggling to cope with the influx of patients. Two years into a devastating war between the Houthis and government forces backed by a Saudi-led Arab military coalition, more than half of the country’s medical centres are out of service.

The WHO now classifies Yemen as one of the worst humanitarian emergencies in the world alongside Syria, South Sudan, Nigeria and Iraq. According to WHO data, the conflict has killed more than 8,000 people and wounded about 40,000. And the UN has warned that two-thirds of the population is on the brink of famine.