About half of all Yemeni children under the age of five are malnourished, a total of 2.4 million of them, while 17.8 million people in that country need health support, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned today.
“The recent events around the Red Sea and the attacks on Yemen, amid the worsening situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, may reverse the hard-won progress for peace and stability. The people of Yemen have experienced deep devastation, hunger and violence. They deserve to live in peace and progress,” said Arturo Pesigan, WHO representative in Yemen, to journalists in Geneva.
Noting that only 51 percent of health facilities are fully operational in Yemen, he said many regions of Yemen face the worst health and development challenges.
“There are 135,000 IDP households and 916 IDP camps in the western province of Hodeidah alone,” Pesigan said, adding that this has exacerbated the socio-economic problems facing communities and health facilities.
The WHO representative went on to say that Yemen is inundated with malaria, dengue, measles, diphtheria and acute diarrhea, which is suspected to be cholera.
“Since the beginning of 2024, 3,940 cases of acute watery diarrhea and suspected cholera have been reported, with 13 related deaths,” Pesigan pointed out, noting that Yemen is classified as the largest cholera epidemic in the world, with over 2.5 million reported cases between 2016 and 2021.
He also stressed that the WHO is facing a serious lack of humanitarian support in Yemen.
“Today, Yemen is at a critical crossroads. The coming days will determine the future of more than 35 million people,” Pesigan warned.
Tensions have escalated in the Red Sea amid attacks by Yemen’s Houthi movement on commercial ships suspected of being linked to Israel.
The Houthis say their attacks are aimed at pressuring Israel to halt its deadly assault on the Gaza Strip, which has killed nearly 25,500 people.
The United States and Britain have launched airstrikes on Houthi positions in Yemen in recent days in retaliation for the attacks, which have raised fears of another bout of inflation and supply chain disruptions.
The Red Sea is one of the most used sea routes in the world for transporting oil and fuel.
