Cholera threatens half of war-wracked Yemen’s provinces and the number of suspected cases has doubled in 12 days to over 4,000 amid an ongoing humanitarian and economic crisis, the United Nations said on Monday.
"The numbers of cholera cases in Yemen continue to increase, sparking concerns of a significant outbreak," the UN World Health Organisation said in a report.
Eight people have died in the outbreak, as well as 56 from acute diarrhoea, according the WHO report.
Eleven provinces - almost half of the country – are reporting cases of the disease, with most occurring in the southern provinces of Taiz and Aden, site of the government's temporary capital, the report said.
Deaths due to cholera have also been confirmed in the northwestern provinces of Hajjah and Amran and in the western province of Sanaa, and Ibb, said the report.
The war between a Saudi Arabia-led coalition and the Iran-aligned Shia Houthi rebels has destroyed much of Yemen's infrastructure and two-thirds of the population lack safe drinking water or sanitation while only only 45 percent of health facilities are functional, according to WHO.
At least 7.6 million people are estimated to be living in areas where they are at risk of catching cholera and communities hosting more than three million people left homeless by the conflict are especially at risk, said WHO.
Food shortages and the increasing cases of malnutrition have also worsened the health conditions of many Yemenis making them more vulnerable to disease, WHO noted.
The conflict has killed more than 10,000 people over the past 19 months.
Health authorities in Yemen confirmed a cholera outbreak on 6 October 2016, saying it posed an increased health risk to the population especially children.
Last month, the WHO appealed to nations to provide urgent support to prevent the spread of cholera in the impoverished country, where four-fifths of the population is reliant on humanitarian aid.
A total 22.35 million dollars of aid is needed to fight cholera in Yemen, WHO said.
