Terrible, the number of cholera cases in Yemen has reached one million people

News24xx.com -  According to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the number of cholera cases in Yemen has reached one million people, a new milestone for what has become one of the fastest-growing lethal epidemics in modern history.

After nearly three years of war between the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthi rebels, more than 80 percent of Yemenis lack access to food, fuel, clean water and health care.

Until late September 2017, cholera has killed more than 2,200 people in Yemen, according to UN figures.

Although cholera has a mortality rate of 0.3 percent, the size of the outbreak combined with the lack of equipment and medical staff to deal with the crisis left thousands more at risk of death.

Both rebels and coalitions are accused of preventing free access to medical facilities, and exacerbating the crisis by surrounding civilian areas or upholding the blockade.

The UN says the epidemic has affected more than 90 percent of districts and 21 of the 22 governors in Yemen.

The disease is spread through water and food that has been contaminated with waste from people who already have the disease, and most often occurs in places with poor sanitation and sewage facilities.

The Yemeni conflict has brought its health system to its knees in hospitals that can not help patients because of the lack of proper medication and damage to equipment caused by Saudi-led coalition air strikes.

Saudi Arabia and a coalition of Arab and Muslim countries intervened in Yemen, with western support, in March 2015.

It follows the capture of Yemen's Sanaa capital in 2014 by Allied Houthi forces, and further progress south towards the port city of Yemen.

Despite dominating the country's skyline and naval blockade, Saudi forces have failed to drive the Houthis out of most of the northern region of Yemen.

The impact of continuing civilian conflict is enormous with millions of people facing hunger, according to the United Nations, which says the country is on the verge of hunger and described the crisis as the world's worst crisis.

 

 

 

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