The number of people infected with cholera in Yemen has exceeded one million, the ICRC reports.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that on average, some 5,000 people were falling ill daily, with children under 15 accounting for 41 percent of all suspected cases while people over 60 represented 30 percent of fatalities. Currently, a child under the age of 5 dies every 10 minutes of preventable causes.
This little one is being treated for cholera at a UNICEF-supported hospital in #Yemen. Thousands more children remain at risk.#ChildrenUnderAttack pic.twitter.com/c6k8GE2pSB
— UNICEF (@UNICEF) December 9, 2017
The spread of disease is exacerbated by starvation and unsanitary conditions in the country, as Saudi Arabia tightened the blockade of Yemen, which hampered the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the civilians.
The blockade came as a response to a missile launch from Yemeni territory and was aimed at preventing the Houthis from receiving arms supplies from abroad, as Saudi Arabia accused Iran of supplying Yemeni rebels with short-range ballistic missiles.
READ MORE: ‘No Hope’ for Children in Desperate Yemen Cholera Epidemic: 4000 New Cases Daily
Yemen has been engulfed in a bitter conflict between the government and Houthi rebels supported by the army loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh since 2015, with a coalition backed by Saudi Arabia conducting an aerial operation in the country at the request of incumbent President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.
