Corona pandemic new threat in cholera and war-torn Yemen

Oxfam delivers water to Yemen, which has averaged more than 50 cases of cholera per hour over the last five years.

Photo: Pablo Tosco

People in Yemen are now facing several new threats that could impact the already devastating humanitarian disaster in the country. Following the recent escalation of violence in Yemen, with the onset of the rainy season and tighter border restrictions due to the global Covid-19 pandemic, the country is now facing a worsening crisis.

Every hour since the start of the war in Yemen five years ago, on average:

• over 90 people displaced
• the number of people suffering from hunger increased by over 100 people
• over 50 cases of cholera reported

Coronavirus now poses another threat to Yemen

Flights in and out of the country have been halted, affecting aid workers. Only 50% of health facilities in Yemen are functional, and those that are open have acute shortages of medicine, materials and staff. Around 17 million people - more than half the population - lack access to clean water.

The upcoming rainy season may increase the number of cholera cases in Yemen, which already has the highest number of suspected cases ever recorded by a country in a single year, the worst in 2017 and the second worst in 2019.

Photo: Pablo Tosco

"After five years of death, disease, displacement and facing the threat of the pandemic, the situation of the people of Yemen is urgent and the warring parties must agree to a ceasefire and return to peace negotiations."

Muhsin Siddiquey, Oxfam Country Director in Yemen

Between March 26, 2015 and March 7, 2020, 12,366 civilians have been killed in the fighting and more than four million Yemenis are displaced in the country. On average, more than 90 people have been displaced every hour since 2015.

Since the start of the cholera outbreak in 2017, over 2.3 million suspected cases have been reported, and over 50 cases per hour on average in the last five years. With the onset of the rainy season in April, cholera cases are expected to increase again. Oxfam estimates that the number of people infected could exceed one million in 2020.

The number of people suffering from hunger in the country has increased by 4.7 million in the last five years - that's more than 100 people per hour on average.

"The world knows how to prevent cholera and hunger, these are not new problems. The humanitarian crisis in Yemen is entirely man-made, not only those who fight but also those who supply the warring parties with weapons," said Siddiquey.