Concerns are growing over a renewed cholera outbreak in Yemen, after years of conflict has left the country's healthcare system struggling to cope.
Thousands of suspected cases have already been reported this year, with medical teams warning that worsening conditions could fuel the spread of the disease.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 5,000 suspected cases of cholera and acute watery diarrhoea have been recorded since the start of 2026, along with seven deaths.
Most infections have been reported since late April in areas controlled by Yemen's internationally recognised government, including Taiz province.
At Al Jumhouri Hospital in Taiz, doctors and nurses are working around the clock as growing numbers of patients arrive suffering from severe dehydration caused by the waterborne disease.
Among them is 60-year-old Fatima Qaed, who described the frightening experience of becoming seriously ill.
"First came severe diarrhoea. I endured the pain for two days, but on the third day, I started vomiting severely. The diarrhoea and vomiting just wouldn't stop," she said.
"It is a relentless, severe illness. I couldn't even sleep. I felt like I was dying. I already have high blood pressure and diabetes, so I was terrified my condition would worsen. When they told me I had cholera, I was extremely terrified."
Health officials say the outbreak is being driven by the devastating impact of more than a decade of war, alongside shrinking international aid and the collapse of basic services.
"Regarding the current epidemic situation in Yemen, multiple diseases and outbreaks are spreading across the country, and cholera is one of them," said Tayseer Al-Samaei, spokesperson for the Taiz Health Office.
"Cholera is a disease fuelled by war and the shortage of international financial aid in recent years."
The WHO says Yemen is now among the countries hardest hit by cholera, ranking seventh worldwide for suspected cases and second in its Eastern Mediterranean Region after Afghanistan.
The United Nations health agency has linked the outbreak to failing water and sanitation systems, severe shortages of medical staff and supplies, and a healthcare network that has been pushed to the brink by years of conflict.
With access to clean drinking water still limited in many communities, health workers warn that preventing the spread of cholera remains an enormous challenge for families already living through one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.
Iran said it was nearing a final pact with Oman defining new shipping lanes between them through the Strait of Hormuz but repeated that the U.S. must ...
Uzbekistan has secured preferential tariffs for fertiliser and petroleum product shipments through Kazakhstan’s Kuryk port to Georgian ports, as Uzb...
Police in eastern India used tear gas, batons and water cannon on Monday to disperse thousands of young protesters marching on the Jharkhand state leg...
An agreement between Iran and the U.S. to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is expected "soon," a U.S. official has said. The deal would result in the resumption of commercial shipping through the sea passage and the lifting of an American naval blockade on Iranian ports.
Flights arriving at Catania airport in eastern Sicily were suspended after volcanic ash from a new eruption of Mount Etna drifted into the airspace around the airport, disrupting operations at one of Italy’s busiest aviation hubs.
A deal on a new route for vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is "very close," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said, while warning that the reopening of the waterway depends on the U.S. meeting other conditions, including paying compensation to Iran.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 9th of August, covering the latest developments.
Iran said it was nearing a final pact with Oman defining new shipping lanes between them through the Strait of Hormuz but repeated that the U.S. must meet other conditions.
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is expected to surpass 4,000 cases this week, with delayed detection, weak surveillance, funding shortages and conflict allowing the virus to spread faster than in any previous epidemic at the same stage.
Australia warned on Monday (3 August) of a wider spread of H5N1 bird flu after its first confirmed mass mortality event among seabirds killed about 50 greater crested terns off the coast of South Australia, south of Adelaide.
Cancer patients in Sudan are struggling to access life-saving treatment as soaring medication costs, power shortages and damaged hospital infrastructure deepen the country's healthcare crisis after more than three years of war.
The world risks a resurgence of the HIV epidemic after international funding fell by nearly a fifth last year, according to a new report from UNAIDS, which warned that decades of progress against the disease could be reversed without renewed global support.
A global shift towards healthier diets, more efficient farming and reduced food waste could cut greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture-related land-use change by 85% by 2050, according to a study published last week in the journal Nature.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment