The Cases Of Cholera Have Reached A Record Number In Yemen

The Cases Of Cholera Have Reached A Record Number In Yemen

2017 has not been a good year for the Yemeni. More than half a million have been infected with cholera, a deadly water-borne disease.

The World Health Organization describes the delicate situation

The total numbers of suspected cases exceeds 500,000 thousand and of those over 2,000 people have died since the epidemic outbreak. These numbers have been presented by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a warning and also to ask for international help. They also explained that over 5,000 cases per day are discovered.

Cholera and hygiene

The Cholera disease is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholera and it starts as an infection of the small intestine. Due to the precarious sanitary and hygienic conditions in Yemen, an underdeveloped country thorn already by war, the disease has the perfect conditions for a rapid spread. WHO also declared that over 30,000 health providers have not received salaries for over a year and this is also influencing the conditions of the health system.

International Organizations ask for help

WHO’s Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared that the situation is desperate and that health workers have to operate in precarious and overwhelming conditions. They do not have enough water or medicine supplies.

The head of advocacy of Oxfam, Katy Wright has made a desperate call to the international community to help the country surpass its political crisis and to put an end to the financial and military backing.

She explained that the epidemic is a man-made disaster due to bad international and national politics. She pleads with the international community to stop the outbreak by sending aid and provisions. Wright also blames the U.S and the U.K and accuses these countries of backing the war by sending military support and selling arms. One thing is for sure, the people of Yemen are the ones to suffer the consequences.

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