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Yemen

Yemen Humanitarian Bulletin Issue 18 (14 December 2016) [EN/AR]

Attachments

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Some 122 confirmed cholera cases in Yemen.

  • More than 5 million reached across Yemen’s 22 governorates.

  • Violence against girls and women increases.

Total population 26 m

# of people targeted by assistance 12.6 m

# of people targeted by health care assistance 10.7 m

# of people targeted by food assistance 8.0 m

# of people displaced (IDPs & returnees) 3.3 m

# of deaths (WHO) 7,272

# of injuries [?injured persons] (WHO) 38,279

  • Source: 2016 HRP, 2016 HNO and WHO

FUNDING

$1.6 billion requested

$950 million funding against HRP

58 per cent funded (14 December 2016)

  • Source: FTS, December 2016

Humanitarian actors help tackle a cholera outbreak

As of 29 November, the outbreak of cholera declared in early October, recorded 122 confirmed cases in 12 governorates, 10 confirmed deaths, and 72 suspected deaths.
Additionally, more than 7,700 suspected cases were reported across 15 at-risk governorates. Women and children made up the majority of both suspected cases and deaths. The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MoPHP) estimate that 7.6 million people are at risk.
Containment and treatment activities are being undertaken by humanitarian partners in support of the Ministry of Health throughout Yemen. Some 24 Cholera Treatment Centres now help manage cholera cases, in 15 priority governorates across Yemen. Rapid response teams have also been deployed to ensure timely and effective epidemiological investigation and response. Water and sanitation interventions are helping contain the spread of the disease by chlorinating water and helping to manage waste. Funding for the cholera response includes a $ 4 million allocation from the Central Emergency Relief Fund (CERF) and Yemen Humanitarian Pooled Fund (YHPF) and some $3 million secured through reprogramming of resources by humanitarian partners.

The scale up of household water chlorination interventions to contain the outbreak in high-risk areas is on going; however, the lack of sufficient funding is limiting the reach of this intervention. Custom clearance delays for laboratory testing reagents into Yemen are also limiting the classification of cases. This is compounded by the limited laboratory facilities in Yemen and a collapsing health system, in which 55 per cent of health facilities are either not functioning or barely functioning.

Agreements have been reached with parties to the conflict to fast-track cholera response clearance requests. Consequently, deconfliction requests with the Saudi Arabian-ledCoalition, which are required to ensure the safety of aid movements, are now being processed within 12 hours or less (instead of the regular 48 hours); similarly, the Ministry of Interior, in the national capital Sana’a, has been prioritizing the clearance of movement requests for supplies and staff related to the cholera response.

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