ReliefWeb

Highlights

• By the end of May, over 65,000 suspected cases of cholera and at least 532 deaths have been reported, the number of cases increases by the minute*. The outbreak is making an already dire situation for children in Yemen much worse. Almost half of the suspected cases are children.

• The situation is overwhelming for what remains of Yemen’s conflict-battered health system. Hospitals and health facilities are struggling to cope. There is a shortage of health workers, many of whom have not been paid for months.

• UNICEF and partners have been able to support nearly 2.5 million people in cholera-affected or at-risk locations by airlifting essential supplies for treatment, providing safe water through rehabilitation and disinfection of water sources and containers, as well creating awareness among the public on how to prevent cholera.

• With the Health system working at the limits of its capacity, the Community Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) programme becomes even more critical to treat and prevent malnutrition. Over 16,500 children were treated for severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in May and nearly 7,000 received micronutrient supplementation.

• The Tetanus Toxoid (TT) vaccination round launched on 29 April was completed on 11 May in 46 High Risk Districts, reaching 36,774 pregnant women and 323,140 women of child bearing age.

• Over 70 per cent of teachers in Yemen have not received their salaries in the past eight months. The situation forced the early closure of the school year in 13 governorates, affecting nearly 4.5 million students.

Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs

The humanitarian situation in Yemen is appalling and continues to deteriorate. In addition to the protracted conflict, the nutrition and food security crisis, and the economic and institutional collapse; the cholera outbreak keeps spreading at an alarming pace further stretching the already limited public systems capacities. By the end of May – just four weeks after the outbreak was announced – more than 65,000 suspected cases had been reported and at least 532 deaths were recorded. The number of cholera and Acute Watery Diarrhoea (AWD) associated deaths between 27 April and end of May, was almost three times higher than figures reported from October 2016 to March 2017. The outbreak is rapidly spreading. According to projections, 29.6 million people are at risk, and cases are most likely going to reach 300,000 by the end of the year.

UNICEF and humanitarian partners, in coordination with authorities at all levels, have scaled up the integrated emergency response. Targeted plans were quickly prepared and put into action at cluster and organization level to address the most urgent cholera-related needs - including case management, chlorination of water supplies, hygiene promotion, integrated prevention activities and treatment services. Furthermore, UNICEF has already started to plan and fundraise for complementary long term actions and preventative measures, particularly critical in communities not yet reached by the outbreak. The limited availability of health services, the quality of care and case management at health centres, non-functional water supply systems, as well as extended unsafe practices in terms of use of water and hygiene, are among the main challenges to overcome when planning response actions. In parallel with the unprecedented cholera spread, violence does not cease in Yemen. Fighting and clashes were reported in Nihm district (Sana’a), Sa’ada, Hajjah, and particularly heavy fighting were recorded in Taizz city and its surrounding.