Yemen: Growing fears of cholera outbreak as fleeing civilians face appalling conditions

There are growing fears of diseases such as cholera spreading as civilians continue to flee the escalating conflict in Yemen, Islamic Relief warns. More than 125,000 people have fled their homes so far, as the violence has surged in the past few days. Most are sheltering in desperate and overcrowded conditions without clean water or decent sanitation. Islamic Relief teams are working in Taiz, Lahj and Aden governorates, where many families have sought shelter in crowded schools, camps or on the streets. Khanzad Shah, Islamic Relief’s water, sanitation and hygiene coordinator in Yemen, said: “The number of people fleeing is increasing every day and they face appalling conditions. They don’t have water or food to survive, or cash to buy what they need. In one of the school shelters that we visited, children were crying from hunger. People are sleeping on the floor of overcrowded classrooms. They are drinking contaminated dirty water, and they don’t have decent sanitation facilities. “These conditions are ripe for an outbreak of deadly water-borne diseases such as cholera. “The health system in Yemen has collapsed from years of conflict and funding cuts, making it much harder to control and outbreak and save lives. Essential services have been starved of funds over the last few years and in Taiz alone, around 59% of health facilities are not even functioning. People will die without more aid.” A previous cholera outbreak in Yemen in 2017 killed around 3,000 people. Islamic Relief is calling on parties to the conflict to de-escalate, protect civilians, and ensure safe humanitarian access to people in need, and on the international community to increase humanitarian aid and step up diplomatic efforts towards long-term peace. Islamic Relief has worked in Yemen since 1998 and delivers projects to improve water and sanitation, strengthen sustainable livelihoods, support orphaned children, and provide emergency relief. It works closely with local partner organisations across