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Taiz, Yemen\u2019s third largest city, has been a major battleground between the Iran-backed Houthis and the internationally recognised Saudi-backed Yemeni government since the start of the war in 2014.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Houthis have besieged the city since 2015 but tightened their blockade at the start of this month when they took control of the last main road between Taiz and other government-held areas.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The development is part of a broader offensive the Houthis launched in early September to seize key territory along Yemen’s south-western Red Sea coast.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Current wheat and flour supplies in Taiz could run out in less than three weeks, while food prices have reportedly risen about 50 per cent and cooking gas has become largely unavailable, the UN warns.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Petrol prices have also tripled and fuel shortages are putting water supply and health services at risk.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe continue to urge [the parties] to\u2026uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law and to refrain from direct attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure<\/strong> and take constant care to spare both civilians and the infrastructure they use,\u201d The UN\u2019s St\u00e9phane Dujarric stressed on Tuesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n At the same time, across the country,\u00a0escalating conflict and mass displacement have disrupted health services and pushed people into overcrowded shelters\u00a0<\/strong>with inadequate access to safe water.\u00a0<\/p>\n As a consequence, Yemen is seeing a surge in\u00a0<\/strong>cholera<\/strong> \u2013 an acute and potentially fatal intestinal infection, which mostly spreads through water or food contaminated by human faeces.\u00a0<\/p>\n The country has reported 8,034 suspected cholera cases and 27 deaths this year, with a quarter of them occurring in the last four weeks.<\/p>\n Since August, 200,000 people have been displaced<\/strong>, which the UN\u2019s health organization\u00a0WHO notes coincides with a sharp increase in cholera transmission.\u00a0<\/p>\n Children also face serious risks from\u00a0<\/strong>measles<\/strong>, with more than 22,800 suspected cases and 128 deaths reported this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n Vaccination coverage, at an estimated 45 per cent for each of the two recommended doses, is critically low in Yemen, increasing the risk of outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases.<\/p>\n Health facilities, which are already treating thousands of people injured in the fighting, are struggling to keep up with the growing disease burden.\u00a0<\/p>\n Approximately 500 health facilities across nine affected governorates lack partner support, the WHO found.\u00a0<\/p>\n The agency is working with the Yemeni government to strengthen surveillance, testing and treatment, but its 90-day emergency response is critically underfunded. It needs $31 million and has received just $4.3 million, less than 14 per cent of the total.<\/p>\n \u201cWithout urgent funding and unimpeded access to safe water, vaccination and essential health services, outbreaks could spread rapidly among already vulnerable communities,\u201d said WHO official Dr Annette Heinzelmann.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\nDisease outbreaks<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Health services under strain\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n