France donates €2m to support Yemen's cholera crisis

France has today allocated €2 million in aid to support the emergency healthcare needs in Yemen in response to the state of emergency which was declared after an outbreak of cholera.

According to an official statement by Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Romain Nadal, the French government is concerned by how quickly the cholera epidemic is spreading in certain regions of Yemen.

Nadal warned that the health situation in Yemen has “much deteriorated”, stressing that the “spread of this illness all over the county cannot be prevented without a decisive action to put an end to it as quickly as possible.”

Read: Yemen cholera outbreak kills 25 people in a week

The €2 million ($2.2 million) French donation, he added, would also be used to support projects that allow for a swift response to the most urgent needs of the population, notably in the health sector.

Finding a political solution in Yemen is more urgent than ever; it is the only way to resolve this conflict in order to put an end to the suffering of the Yemeni people

the official added.

On Sunday, the Houthi run Yemeni health ministry in Sana’a declared a state of emergency in the capital after the outbreak of the disease, calling on humanitarian relief organisations and aid donors to help Yemen prevent an “unprecedented disaster”.

At least 180 people have died from the disease since 27 April, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said today.

Some 17 million of Yemen’s 26 million population lack sufficient food and at least three million malnourished children are in “grave peril”, according to the UN.