34 dead, 2,000 fall ill with suspected cholera in Yemen, says WHO

The WHO now classifies Yemen as one of the worst humanitarian emergencies in the world.

Thirty-four people have died of cholera-related causes and more than 2,000 have been taken ill in less than two weeks in Yemen, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Tuesday.

This is the second wave of cholera-associated deaths in a year in Yemen. (Reuters File)

“There have been 34 cholera-associated deaths and 2,022 cases of acute watery diarrhoea in nine governorates, including Sanaa, during the period of April 27 to May 7,” a WHO official said.

This is the second wave of cholera-associated deaths in a year in Yemen, where a deadly war has destroyed hospitals and left millions of people struggling to access food and clean water.

The WHO now classifies Yemen as one of the worst humanitarian emergencies in the world alongside Syria, South Sudan, Nigeria and Iraq.

Conflict in Yemen has escalated over the past two years, as the Saudi-supported government fights Iran-backed Huthi rebels for control of the impoverished country.

The United Nations, which has called Yemen “the largest humanitarian crisis in the world”, estimates that more than 7,000 people have been killed since 2015 and three million displaced.

Some 17 million also lack adequate food, with one third of the country’s provinces on the brink of famine.