Oman provides financial assistance to WHO for countering cholera in war-torn Yemen

NewsBharati    13-Aug-2018
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Sana’a, August 13: Oman has contributed US$5mn to the World Health Organization (WHO) in war-torn Yemen in the wake of an outbreak of dangerous diseases including cholera and Diptheria.

 

Notably, Yemen is devastated due to the dual attack i.e civil war and another one from the outbreak of cholera. Since April 2017 to February 2018, more than 1,060,000 suspected cases of cholera and 2300 deaths have been reported in Yemen.

96% parts of Yemen was severely hampered and affected. The governorates reporting the maximum number of cases were Sanaa (335), Amran (302), Dhamar (262) and Hodeida (257). However, the number of reported cases has decreased or remained stable in all governorates for three consecutive weeks, except for Sanaa.

Over 2.50 lakhs people have been vaccinated in war-torn Yemen in the wake of an outbreak of dangerous diseases including cholera and Diptheria so far by WHO. But this has not been enough. Therefore, Oman has contributed US$5mn to the WHO in Yemen with an aim to improve services in the healthcare sector to counter cholera and other diseases.

Earlier, in this month, taking a note on the recent attacks on Hodeida port, the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has warned of another cholera outbreak in war-torn Yemen.

In May this year, Qatar and Turkey jointly donated $1 million in financial assistance to Yemen with an aim to deliver vital food aid on the immediate basis. In 2011, some 719,377 suspected cases of cholera were recorded in Haiti, and 8,767 people died, according to national figures cited by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

An epidemic late last year faded but outbreaks are frequent and made worse by the degrading of health and sanitation systems by more than two years of civil war that has also killed at least 10,000 people and displaced millions.