About 250,000 malaria cases were recorded by Yemen's medical officials during the past six months, amid malnourishment and crumbling health infrastructure.
In Yemen, "tropical epidemic diseases", are still a real threat, especially malaria amid a continuing rainy season that has fueled the spread of mosquitoes transmitting the deadly disease. This is the latest infectious disease outbreak in the war-torn country, according to a Mareb Press report.
Coronavirus
This comes at a time when the country has recorded 1,128 COVID-19 cases, according to official numbers, while only 42 have recovered and 304 have died. This shows that the death rate is more than the recovery rate, pointing at its poor healthcare facilities.
The UN says this may be an uncertain number; with shortage of testing kits and lack of transparency in data, the cases could be much higher.
Most of the country's 3,500 medical facilities are damaged or destroyed in air-strikes while only half of them are thought to be functioning. The war has been on for nearly six years.
Cases May Be Higher Than Reported
Malarial has devastated many regions such as Ibb, Amran, Dhamar, Sanaa, and separate areas of Hodeidah. Al Hudaydah governorate is leading in the number of cases with 55,000 cases and 3,500 deaths.
Sanaa's medical sources say that the actual cases of malaria are higher than what is reported.
Over 38,000 malaria cases have been reported in the Ibb governate. More than half of the 21 governorates have been affected by the vector-borne disease, killing thousands of citizens, according to a medical source.
In addition to malaria, cholera and dengue fever started spreading among the undernourished populations, way before the coronavirus outbreak. A UNICEF report says it suspects more than 110,000 cases of cholera in Yemen this year.
Malnutrition
UNICEF recently warned that Yemen's malnutrition number in children can rise up to 2.4 million at the year's end, as there is a severe shortage in humanitarian aid and funding. Even the UN stated lack of funds to maintain the flow of aid. Programs like sanitation and immunization are at risk of closing down
The report also warns that there can be a 20 percent spike in malnourishment in children under the age of five, making it half of the total number of children in that age group.
