UN: 400 Yemenis Lost Their Lives from Cholera Epidemic in 2018

The Office of Yemen in the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reported the death of nearly 400 people with cholera epidemic during the year 2018.

In a report, the Office said 295,000 cases were suspected of contracting the epidemic in 2018, compared to 2,300 deaths and 1.1 million cases of the epidemic in 2017.

“Children under the age of five accounts for one-third of the deaths of this pandemic,” the report stated.

Cholera is a disease that leads to severe diarrhea that can kill the patient within hours if it fails to meet the treatment. Children who are malnourished and under the age of five are particularly at risk of contracting the disease.

In October, Save the Children said the number of suspected cases of cholera had nearly tripled in health centers it has supported in Yemen since fighting resumed in the province of Hodeidah in western Yemen.

The British-based non-governmental organization Child Care said in a statement that its medical facilities in Yemen recorded an increase of 170% (2.7 times) in the number of suspected cases of cholera (1,342 cases in August compared to 497 in June).

According to the humanitarian organization, Hodeidah has become the “center” of the cholera epidemic in Yemen.

About 30 percent of potential cholera cases were reported in children under the age of five, Save the Children said. Moreover, the organization has pointed out that it is concerned about the fate of 100,000 severely malnourished children and makes them more likely to develop diarrheal diseases, such as cholera, which can lead to their death