UN raises alarm over cholera outbreak in Yemen
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| Cholera-infected Yemenis receive treatment amid an acute cholera outbreak at a hospital in Sana'a, Yemen.- EPA |
(Vatican Radio) Yemen is in the midst of the world’s worst
cholera outbreak. In the last three months alone, 400,000 cases of suspected
cholera and nearly 1900 associated deaths have been recorded.
The country is on the brink of famine, with over 60 per cent
of the population not knowing where their next meal will come from.
The heads of three United Nations agencies, UNICEF, the
World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have just
returned from a visit to Yemen to see for themselves the scale of this
humanitarian crisis and to step up their combined efforts to help the people
there.
In a joint statement they said that, “thousands are falling
sick every day. Sustained efforts are required to stop the spread of disease.
Nearly 80 percent of Yemen’s children need immediate humanitarian assistance.”
Speaking to Lydia O’Kane from Sana’a city, Communications
Officer, Reem Nada spoke about the current situation on the ground.
“The cholera outbreak is actually compounding a very complex
situation in Yemen because already we have malnutrition, we have hunger, 70
million people are suffering, they don’t know where their next meal is coming
from.”
Asked how WFP is responding to the situation, she said, “the
World Food Programme have been scaling up its operations constantly over the
past year and last month we have been able to reach a record number of 5.5
million across the country… This month we are aiming to support 7 million
people.”
The Heads of the three United Nations agencies are now
calling “on the international community to redouble its support for the people
of Yemen.”
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