Cholera cases have tripled in the last three weeks in southern Yemen as the conflict and displacement escalates, and Islamic Relief is warning that thousands of lives are at risk.
The fighting has caused over 200,000 people to seek refuge in overcrowded and polluted camps and other sites such as mosques and schools. About 40% of the displaced people do not have access to safe water and one third don’t have proper latrines, forcing families to defecate outside – conditions that are breeding grounds for the spread of fatal water-borne diseases such as cholera.
The outbreak has so far killed 27 people this year with around 2,000 cases in the last four weeks – 94% of them concentrated in the five southern displacement-hosting governorates of Abyan, Lahj, Al-Dhale’e, Taiz, and Aden.
The collapse of Yemen’s health system after years of war and economic crisis is fuelling the outbreak. Only around 60% of health facilities are fully functional in the area, with many out of medicine.
Islamic Relief warned last month that a cholera outbreak was likely unless aid rapidly increases, due to the dire conditions for displaced families.
Islamic Relief Yemen acting country director Saaid Said Omar said:
“This cholera outbreak is a disaster. People who fled the conflict by the thousands were already suffering from shortages of food, shelter and displacement. Now they are at risk from this cholera outbreak which is highly likely to spread and can kill a human in 24 hours. This outbreak is not surprising as many displaced families are relying on unprotected wells and surface water, while sheltering with thousands of others in overcrowded sites without proper sanitation services and latrines.”
“This is a pivotal moment for Yemen. If the current crisis does not receive sufficient international attention and funding, the humanitarian situation is likely to deteriorate significantly in the coming months. The cholera outbreak is an early warning sign of a much wider crisis. Donors have a crucial opportunity to act now to prevent further loss of life, contain disease, and protect vulnerable families before needs escalate beyond current response capacities. Yemen cannot afford another cycle of delayed action.”
International agencies have increased testing for cholera in high-transmission areas of Abyan, Lahj, Al-Dhale’e, Taiz, and Aden, with high positivity rates confirming active spread, and local specialist medical teams are working to stop the spread.
Islamic Relief is planning to procure medicine and keep hospitals supplied in their fight against cholera in Taiz, Lahjj, and Aden, working alongside other agencies which are testing people for the infection, as well as providing aid to hundreds of other displaced families.
Islamic Relief has worked in Yemen since 1998 and delivers projects to improve water and sanitation, strengthen sustainable livelihoods, support orphaned children, and provide emergency relief. It works closely with local partner organisations across the country.
