3,000 to 5,000 new cholera cases in Yemen each day, says UN

Geert Cappelaere, the Middle East director of UNICEF, said in an interview today that 70,000 cases of cholera have been reported in the past month in 19 of Yemen’s 22 governorates.(Reuters)

The UN children’s agency says cholera is spreading quickly in war-ravaged Yemen, with an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 new cases every day. Geert Cappelaere, the Middle East director of UNICEF, said in an interview today that 70,000 cases of cholera have been reported in the past month in 19 of Yemen’s 22 governorates.

He says this could double every two weeks __ to 130,000 and then about 300,000 cases __ unless more aid is delivered. He says the outbreak might “spread beyond Yemen” and should concern all states neighboring Yemen where civil war is now in its third year.

You may also like to watch:

The fighting has killed more than 10,000 people, displaced 3 million others and devastated the country’s health sector and economy. Cappelaere says many patients can’t afford to travel to free clinics.