115 dead as Yemen cholera outbreak spreads
A cholera outbreak in war-torn Yemen has killed 115 people and left 8,500 ill as hospitals struggle to cope with an influx of patients, the International Committee of the Red Cross said Sunday, according to AFP report.
Citing figures compiled by the Yemeni health ministry, ICRC director of operations Dominik Stillhart said 115 people had died of cholera between April 27 and Saturday.
More than 8,500 suspected cases of the waterborne disease were reported in the same period in 14 governorates across Yemen, Stillhart said, up from 2,300 cases in 10 governorates last week.
Yemen is witnessing a devastating war between the Saudi-supported government and Iranian-backed Huthi rebels, and less than half of the country’s health facilities are functioning two years into the conflict.
The source writes, that the WHO now classifies Yemen as one of the worst humanitarian emergencies in the world alongside Syria, South Sudan, Nigeria and Iraq. Critical food imports are also at an all-time low as many of the country’s Red Sea ports are blockaded.