Oman has contributed US$5mn to the World Health Organization (WHO) in Yemen to improve services in the healthcare sector particularly to prevent and respond to cholera outbreak at all levels.

WHO said that from May 6 to 16, an oral cholera vaccination (OCV) campaign was conducted in the five districts of Aden (Sira, Al Tawahi, Khor Maksar, Al Mualla and Al Buraiqeh) targeting 453,000 people over one year of age.

In a tweet, WHO Yemen said, “Altogether 274,650 people were vaccinated during the campaign and the overall coverage was 60 per cent. This is in addition to distributing 960,000lt of clean water. Fifty quick medical response services were provided including nine in Al Mahra, 17 in Shabwah, 15 in Lahj and nine in Al Dhale governorates.”

It said that 290 medical staff were sponsored to offer services at various locations.

WHO has said that seven chartered aircraft hired by it landed at Sanaa Airport with relief supplies in the third week of July, while between 30 and 50 tonnes of medical supplies reach Aden regularly onboard a UN ship run as part of the World Food Programme (WFP).

During the same time, more than 200 tonnes of life-saving drugs, medical supplies, and emergency equipment were delivered in Yemen by WHO, in partnership with WFP.

The shipments contained interagency emergency health kits (IEHK), surgical kits, cholera kits, intravenous (IV) fluids and antibiotics for health facilities across the country, particularly those in Hodeida and Aden.

The Ministry of Public Health and Population of Yemen had reported 1,874 suspected cases and two associated deaths due to cholera outbreak from May 14 to 20. The governorates reporting the maximum number of cases were Sanaa (335), Amran (302), Dhamar (262) and Hodeida (257). The total number of suspected cholera cases from April 27, 2017 to May 20, 2018 is 1,100,720 and 2,291 associated deaths (case fatality rate 0.21 per cent). Children under five years of age represent 28.8 per cent of the total suspected cases. So far, the cholera outbreak has affected 22 out of 23 governorates and 305 out of 333 districts in Yemen.

However, the number of reported cases has decreased or remained stable in all governorates for three consecutive weeks, except for Sanaa.

Also, the weekly proportion of severe cases has significantly decreased to 18 per cent.

WHO, in coordination with WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) cluster partners, continues to support the Ministry of Public Health and Population of Yemen to contain this outbreak through the strengthening of disease surveillance, case management, and improving sanitation.

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