Yemen accounts for more than one third of global cholera burden
Yemen reports a quarter million suspected cases of cholera through the first 11 months of 2024, making it the country with the most burden in the world, according to UN health officials.
From the beginning of the year and through December 1, Yemen has reported 249,900 suspected cases of cholera, with 861 associated deaths, which accounts for 35% of the global cholera burden and 18% of global reported mortality.
This is more total cholera cases than is reported in 20 African Union Member States this year.
"The outbreak of waterborne diseases like cholera and acute watery diarrhea imposes an additional burden on an already stressed health system facing multiple disease outbreaks. WHO and humanitarian actors are strained in their efforts to address the increasing needs due to severe funding shortages,” said WHO Representative and Head of Mission in Yemen Dr Arturo Pesigan.
“Lack of access to safe drinking water, poor community hygiene practices and limited access to timely treatment further hinder efforts to prevent and control the disease."
Addressing cholera in Yemen requires urgent and comprehensive interventions, covering coordination, surveillance, laboratory capacity, case management, community engagement initiatives, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and oral cholera vaccinations. Timely and sufficient funding is necessary for these interventions. In addition, damaged public water and sanitation infrastructures require intensive rehabilitation to prevent a recurrence of the devastating scenario the country experienced between 2017 and 2020.
In 2017, UN officials reported more than one million suspected cholera cases and more than 2,000 deaths and between January 2018 to May 2020, the cumulative total number of suspected cases was 1,371,819 with 1566 associated deaths.