Yemen cholera cases triple as conflict fuels deadly outbreak

The World Health Organization says that suspected cholera cases in Yemen have tripled in three weeks. That's placing a burden on hospitals that are already battling to treat people injured in the latest conflict. The disease is spread through contaminated food and water. The WHO says that more than 8,000 suspected cholera cases have been reported in Yemen this year. At least 27 people have died. Around a quarter of those cases, 2,000, were recorded in the past month alone. That's since fighting between the government and Houthis intensified. And 94% of the infections are in five southern regions of Yemen. Those are the areas where tens of thousands of displaced people have fled the conflict. They're living in overcrowded, under-resourced camps. Saeed Omar is the acting country director for Islamic Relief in Yemen. He joins us now live from Aden. Good to have you with us, sir. What are your teams on the ground seeing right now in the displacement camps around Aden? How quickly are new suspected cholera cases appearing? And are the reported figures capturing the real scale of this outbreak? Thank you for having me. Cholera is actually spreading rapidly in Yemen, particularly in the areas affected by the recent displacement due to the conflict. We are especially concerned about the overcrowded displacement sites where vulnerable communities are joining in the recent days. And what we are seeing on the ground is that the displaced families are joining in IDPs where there is no public sanitation and hygiene services, which is increasing the risk of cholera, especially for the children and pregnant women. Your organisation warned last month that these conditions could lead to a cholera outbreak. What prevented clean water and proper sanitation from reaching families before this happened? The access to the health, public sanitation and hygiene is limited by the service was, you know, less existence in the beginning. But again, the families are overcrowded in these areas. So where availability of service was initially weakened by the repetitive conflicts and families that were displaced joined these IDPs and access to the sanitation and hygiene services is inadequate. There are no latrines, there is no clean water, there are no other services. So because of this, families are facing a very difficult situation. So if someone develops symptoms in a camp today, how easily can they get treatment? The whole health system in Yemen relies heavily on the humanitarian assistance and availability of the diagnostic devices and the treatment is very difficult. There are certain organisations supporting the government to identify and diagnose the diseases. However, the availability of the medicines and other services is also challenging and it is difficult to provide the required treatment to the beneficiary within the required timeframe. So which people in particular are becoming most seriously ill right now? How much harder is it to help perhaps children who are already weakened by hunger and repeated displacement? Under five children and elderly people, especially the pregnant women, are those who is facing the risk. However, you know, there are other groups that have serious other complications, like elder people with chronic diseases and other people those who have prior health complications are also facing the risk. But under five children are the most affected group in the community. Good to talk to you, sir. Many thanks indeed.