Cholera In Yemen Is ‘Man-Made Disaster’
New York Times: How War Created the Cholera Epidemic in Yemen
Alia Allana, writer for Fountain Ink magazine
“…The spread of cholera in Yemen glaringly illustrates how disease follows in the wake of bombs. … Cholera in Yemen is a manmade disaster, and its spread and casualties are tied to the politics of the war. Aerial bombing by the Saudi-led coalition in Houthi-held areas have damaged hospitals, public water systems, and sewage plants. More than half of health care facilities have fully or partly closed. Doctors, nurses, and ambulance drivers have gone without salaries for months. Sanitation has worsened. People live amid sewage. Acute watery diarrhea has been more fatal in areas controlled by the rebels than in areas controlled by the government. … The United Nations estimates that about seven million people are on the brink of famine in Yemen and nearly 900,000 are infected with cholera. An unrelenting blockade threatens a catastrophic increase in both disease and hunger” (11/12).
The KFF Daily Global Health Policy Report summarized news and information on global health policy from hundreds of sources, from May 2009 through December 2020. All summaries are archived and available via search.