MSF warns of sharp increase in cholera cases in Yemen

Doctors without Borders (MSF) yesterday warned of a “sharp increase” in the number of suspected cholera cases across Yemen.

The international medical organisation posted on Twitter that its teams have noticed a sharp increase in the number of suspected cholera cases in several Yemeni provinces.

“In Sanaa, we started supporting the cholera treatment center at Kuwait Hospital, which has 60 beds, and 145 patients were treated in less than 48 hours,” it added.

The organisation said it has donated medical supplies to health centres in the central province of Al-Bayda to increase response capacity and prevent the spread of cholera throughout the country.

Impoverished Yemen has remained in a state of civil war since 2014, when Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.

In 2015, Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a massive air campaign aimed at reversing Houthi military gains and shoring up Yemen’s embattled government.

According to UN officials, more than 50,000 people have been killed in the war, while more than 11 per cent of the country’s population has been displaced.

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