Oxfam: Yemen suffers from a forgotten cholera crisis
English - Wednesday 11 March 2020 الساعة 03:44 pm
Aden, Newsyemen
Oxfam International said on Tuesday that the upcoming rainy season threatens to inflate the number of cholera cases in Yemen.
The organization added, in a statement, that the outbreak of the epidemic in the past year is considered the second at all globally, and cases are still increasing.
The organization pointed out that Yemen is currently experiencing a forgotten cholera crisis, warning that the number of people affected by the disease may escalate as the country approaches the rainy season in April.
"Health care systems are on the verge of collapse and the provinces in the north of the country are in great danger because of the scarcity of water there," the organization said.
"The outlook is bleak for people in Yemen. Cholera cases remain at similar levels last year, and the rainy season is likely to cause thousands of possible infections," said Mohsen Siddiqui, director of the office of Oxfam in Yemen.
Siddiqui added, "This is a health crisis hiding in full view of everyone. It is horrific that this ongoing crisis gets so little attention."
"We need urgent action by the international community to ensure safe and unimpeded access to humanitarian assistance, as well as to bring all parties together to agree on a ceasefire at the national level," the international official added.
The organization said that efforts to completely defeat the disease have been largely undermined by the war that destroyed the health, water and sanitation systems.
According to WHO, medical supplies suffer from chronic shortages, and only about half of health facilities in Yemen are operating at full capacity.
According to health reports, the total number of cholera cases in Yemen between January 2017 and December 2019 reached two million and 253 thousand and 488 cases.
