Yemen has reported 8,034 suspected cholera cases and 27 deaths in 2026, with a quarter of these cases occurring in the last four weeks. The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that suspected cholera cases have tripled in the past three weeks as civilians flee renewed fighting and seek refuge in unsanitary camps. The escalation of combat has displaced over 200,000 people, leading to an increase in suspected cases from 217 in the week of September 6-12 to 647 in the week of September 27 to October 3, according to a WHO report released on Tuesday.
Annette Heinzelmann, the UN agency’s emergency director for the region, stated, “Families fleeing conflict are now facing another threat from diseases that can be prevented and treated.” She emphasized the need for urgent funding and unimpeded access to safe water, vaccination, and essential health services to prevent rapid outbreaks among vulnerable communities.
The WHO reported that five governorates in the southwest—Abyan, Lahij, al-Dhalea, Taiz, and Aden—account for 92 percent of the reported cases. The disease has also reached remote displacement camps in Hadramout in eastern Yemen, which are particularly challenging for medical teams to access.
Cholera has been a recurring issue in Yemen, with the WHO warning in 2024 that the country faces the “highest burden” of a global cholera outbreak. In 2017, a cholera wave infected hundreds of thousands and resulted in at least 2,000 deaths.
Yemen is experiencing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with increasing food insecurity and disease since fighting resumed between the Houthis and the government in July, disrupting four years of fragile stability.
Cholera is an acute intestinal infection caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae, which spreads through contaminated food and water. It leads to severe diarrhea, vomiting, and muscle cramps, and can be fatal without treatment, such as oral rehydration or antibiotics for severe cases.
The WHO, based in Geneva, has secured only $3.78 million of the $31 million required for its 90-day emergency response in Yemen, which aims to enhance disease surveillance in displacement sites, deploy rapid response teams, strengthen cholera treatment, and improve infection prevention in health facilities and cholera treatment sites.