Health crisis in Yemen
Despite being a completely treatable disease, thousands of people have died from the outbreak of cholera unleashed in Yemen in 2017. The health care system has been decimated by years of unrelenting war. Supplies and medical care are scarce as is the access to drinking water and sanitation.
The war in Yemen has completely decimated the health care system. More than half of the people have little access to basic health care, and less than 45% of the hospitals work and the health personnel cannot cope with the needs.
By December 2017, the outbreak of cholera in Yemen had infected a staggering million people. Despite being a completely treatable disease, thousands of people have died from the disease.
In addition to cholera, other contagious diseases such as diphtheria are spreading in the country. In a country where supplies and medical care are scarce, a lack of access to drinking water doesn't bode well for the ongoing health crisis.
More than 80% of Yemen's population lacks food, fuel, drinking water and access to health care services, which makes it particularly vulnerable to diseases that can generally be cured or eradicated elsewhere in the world.
Cultivating diseases
— ICRC Yemen (@ICRC_ye) March 21, 2018
Farmers harvest leeks; a main ingredient of several Yemeni dishes including the famous “Fahsa”.
Lab tests show that crops in the Sana’a region feed on cholera-contaminated water, putting the health of the city’s 2 million residents at risk. #Yemen pic.twitter.com/c125tlrfyp