Yemen is likely to be hit by another outbreak of deadly cholera within months, Unicef’s Middle East director has warned on the eve of the third anniversary of the country’s civil war.
“Let us not fool ourselves. Cholera is going to come back,” Unicef’s Geert Cappelaere said. “In a few weeks from now the rainy season will start again and without a huge and immediate investment, cholera will again hit Yemeni children.”
More than 1 million children were infected by cholera last year due to lack of access to water and vaccination. Geert Cappelaere said, one child, every 10 minutes was dying from preventable diseases in Yemen. He said: “None of the parties in this war have shown for a single second any respect to the sacred principle of the protection of children.”
“Two million Yemeni boys and girls are no longer attending school or never had a chance to attend school,” he said. More than 500 schools had been destroyed and the majority of teachers were paid no salary.
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