cholera

Thousands of people in Yemen could be dying from undetected cases of cholera because COVID-19 has overwhelmed the country’s health facilities and people are too frightened to seek treatment for fear of the virus, Oxfam said today.

The number of coronavirus cases in Yemen is likely to peak in the coming weeks while the heaviest rains are expected in August which could deepen a hidden cholera crisis.

 

Fears that the world’s worst cholera outbreak could be set for a massive resurgence are growing as aid agencies in Yemen are struggling to reach almost 40,000 people suspected to have the disease, Oxfam warned today.

The first fatality has been confirmed and the number of cases is soaring, now over 1,000.

News reports that the number of cases of cholera in the cyclone-devastated city of Beira has risen to 139.

Oxfam will begin distributing lifesaving aid including water purification tablets and hygiene kits to some of the communities worst affected by Cyclone Idai over this weekend. 

In response to the cholera outbreak hitting the million of suspected cases mark, Oxfam expressed today its appal at this horrifying new record for the country devastated by over 1,000 days of war.

Danger of Cholera comeback as four in five people will be without steady water supply

Eight million people in Yemen will be without running water within days as fuel runs out due to the Saudi-led coalition blockade of the country's northern ports, Oxfam warned today.

In response to the Saudi Arabia-led coalition's announcement to reopen Hodeidah port and Sanaa airport to humanitarian assistance, Oxfam says this is an empty gesture while millions of Yemenis sees their lives threatened by the two-week blockade on the country. 

Many supermarket shelves in northern Haiti are now empty and many people in coastal areas are being evacuated inland to schools and public buildings in preparation for the worst of Hurricane Irma today and tomorrow. Oxfam’s Tania Escamilla is in Cap Haitien with a 27-person team that is assisting the evacuation. 

Yemenis, already on the tipping point after more than two years of war, are now being forced to choose between treating cholera and putting food on the table, said Oxfam in a new report.