Yemen escalation fuels fears of further cholera, measles spread

“We know that comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care has been suspended in two hospitals, in Marib and Ras Al-Arah, because staff and operating capacities have been redirected to trauma care to care for the incoming wounded,” said Dr Annette Heinzelmann, UN World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Emergency Director for the Eastern Mediterranean.

Speaking from Cairo via video link, Dr Heinzelmann noted that more than 20 mobile medical teams supported by WHO have been deployed across priority governorates where vulnerable people have been arriving.

Lifesaving stocks depleted

The agency has also dispatched nearly 60 tonnes of medical supplies worth around $656,000 to 40 facilities and offices across 10 governorates. But “several lifesaving supply lines” in WHO’s Aden warehouse are already at zero stock, including trauma kits and essential medicines.

Briefing journalists in Geneva, Dr Heinzelman said that nine health facilities have been damaged or directly attacked, mostly close to the cities of Taiz, Lahj and Hudaydah. She stressed that displaced families urgently need maternal and child healthcare, nutrition relief, vaccination and mental health support. 

Even before the escalation, only about 60 per cent of health facilities were fully functional, with very limited capacity for trauma surgery, blood transfusion and intensive care.

Cholera is already present in Yemen with about 7,800 suspected cases and 22 deaths reported this year, but fears of an outbreak are gaining traction because of unsafe water and poor sanitation at temporary shelters, Dr Heinzelmann warned. 

Early treatment of cholera is vital to save lives, but health services in Yemen are overstretched because of clashes between Houthi opposition fighters and Government forces that resumed two months ago, after four years of relative calm.

Dengue danger

In addition to cholera, dengue has also been linked to 37 deaths in Yemen, while more than 22,000 cases of measles have been identified. 

According to the health authorities in Aden, since 6 August, the renewed clashes in southwest Yemen have left more than 4,481 casualties including 830 deaths. 

Echoing the humanitarian community’s growing concerns for the people of Yemen, the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, repeated warnings of critical hunger levels among children impacted by the conflict.

Of nearly 2,900 children screened, more than one in four were acutely malnourished, while around 200 have severe acute malnutrition, the Office said in an online alert. 

According to WHO, more than 180,000 people have now been uprooted by the fighting which has seen Houthi forces take over Yemen’s Red Sea coast and reportedly announce a blockade on shipping from Saudi Arabia, which supports the Government in Aden.

Latest data from the health agency also indicates growing needs in Djibouti, now home to more than 3,600 Yemenis who have risked the dangerous sea crossing since 10 September. Nearly half of the new arrivals are children and WHO partners are preparing for potentially 5,000 to 10,000 arrivals in the coming weeks.

“This influx is placing additional pressure in a country already facing severe health and humanitarian needs, with high malnutrition, recent cholera and ongoing measles and malaria risks,” Dr Heinzelmann said.