Cholera has killed 789 in war-torn Yemen: WHO

Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-08 22:44:13|Editor: yan
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SANAA, June 8 (Xinhua) -- Cholera killed 43 Yemeni people in the past 24 hours, with the total suspected cases passing 101,820, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.

The death toll from cholera rose to 789 on Thursday, up from 746 reported on Wednesday, which means the fast spreading epidemic killed 43 in the past 24 hours, according to WHO data.

In the past three days alone, cholera outbreak killed 103 Yemeni people.

The suspected cases also rose to 101,820 from Wednesday's 96,200.

Earlier this week, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) expected suspected cases could hit 130,000 in two weeks, while in last month, WHO expected they could reach 300,000 in the next six months.

The outbreak has spread fast in 19 out of 22 Yemeni governorates in just 6 weeks, since April 27.

Yemen is facing total collapse as the war continues. Two thirds of the population, around 19 million, need some humanitarian or protection aid. About 10.3 million people are close to famine and 14.5 million people lack access to safe drinking water and sanitation.

Less than 45% of the country's hospitals are operational at the moment but even those operational ones are coping with huge challenges, on top of which is the lack of medications, medical equipment and staffs.

The blockade on Yemen, part of a Saudi-led bombing campaign launched in March 2015, has deepened crisis in a country which used to import most of its basic needs. And there is another problem: no much aid is given to address crisis, especially cholera outbreak.

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