According to a recent report on Yemen by the
United Nations, ‘cholera is starting to spread like wildfire across the country,’
with around 200 deaths and more than 110,000 cases of the disease outbreak
reported over the past three months.
The Yemeni Civil War that began four years ago, involving
Iran-supported Houthi movement and internationally recognised Yemeni government
backed by Saudi Arabia, has brought around ten million people on the brink of
famine and starvation. Around seven million people are malnourished, and,
according to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, around 80
per cent of the population needs humanitarian protection and assistance.
To make the situation worse, the cholera outbreak - the
third major one since the civil war commenced in late 2014 - have pushed Yemen
to face the world’s most pressing humanitarian crisis.
The ongoing conflict has cut off transport routes for aid
urgently in need including food and fuel. Incomes of families have been lost
because of non-payment of salaries. The UN and international aid agencies have
largely increased their response to assuage the grim situation, but only five
per cent of $4.2 billion 2019 Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan has been funded.
With no end of the civil war in sight, conditions in Yemen are so extreme that it may take long before the situation begins to normalise after a ceasefire between warring sides is agreed, if that ever happens.
