UAE dispatches urgent aid to control cholera in Yemen‏

The United Arab Emirates has dispatched urgent medical aid to the southern Yemen provinces to control the spread of cholera. The step came in response to appeals from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other related organisations which warned that more than 300,000 new cases infected with the disease were noted in the country as a result of failure of the health system, according to Gulf Today.

The Emirates Red Crescent Authority has launched the first phase of the aid programme, which will be followed by other stages. It has provided the southern Yemen provinces with vaccines against cholera, while medical convoys have been dispatched with medicines, solutions and intravenous fluids. This is besides urgent medicine shipments that will be sent in a few days to the health centres and hospitals in several affected governorates. 

Earlier, WHO declared the death of 242 people due to cholera, while over 23,400 others have been infected with the epidemic in just three weeks, warning that the number may increase to 300,000 in six months.

The United Nations agencies are expected to issue an urgent response plan in the next 48 hours aimed at increasing the number of treatment and fluid recovery centres.

Furthermore, WHO noted that the disease is very widespread and needs substantial support in terms of sanitation reform and water treatment and sterilisation. It warned that if no serious efforts were made to curb the spread of the disease, the loss of people’s lives would be huge.