NGO warns of sharp increase in Yemen cholera cases

By Mohamed al-Samei</p> <p>SANAA (AA) – Doctors without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres) has warned of a sharp increase in suspected cholera cases throughout Yemen.</p> <p>In a Tuesday statement, the NGO said it had begun offering treatment at a dedicated Cholera unit at Sanaa’s Kuwait University Hospital, where its teams have treated 145 patients within the last 48 hours.</p> <p>According to the same statement, Doctors without Borders has also donated medical supplies to local clinics in Yemen’s Al-Bayda province with a view to staunching the spread of the disease.</p> <p>The NGO also called for stepped-up humanitarian assistance to the war-torn country, where 109,000 suspected cholera cases have been registered this year alone, according to the UN.</p> <p>A bacterial disease, cholera can be fatal if not treated immediately.</p> <p>Yemen has been wracked by violence since 2014 when Houthi rebels overran much of the country. The crisis escalated in 2015 when a Saudi-led military coalition launched a devastating air campaign in Yemen in hopes of rolling back Houthi gains. </p> <p>The conflict has destroyed much of Yemen’s basic infrastructure, including water and sanitation systems, prompting the UN to describe the situation as “one of the worst humanitarian disasters of modern times”.