The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned of a rapidly escalating cholera outbreak in Yemen, with 72,260 suspected cases of acute watery diarrhea and cholera — including 201 deaths — recorded between January 1 and August 31, 2025.
According to a WHO report released Friday, the month of August alone saw 10,848 new infections, including 34 deaths linked to the disease, highlighting the expanding spread of the epidemic across multiple Yemeni governorates.
Yemen currently ranks third globally in terms of outbreak magnitude, following Afghanistan, which reported 116,083 cases, and South Sudan with 74,494. Within the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region, Yemen ranks second after Afghanistan, ahead of Sudan, Pakistan, and Somalia.
The report noted that a total of 268,293 cholera and acute watery diarrhea cases were reported across six countries in the region since the beginning of the year, with 1,633 deaths. Globally, 462,890 cases and 5,869 deaths were reported in 32 countries across five WHO regions during the same period.
This worsening health crisis is compounded by Yemen’s deteriorating humanitarian situation. Nearly a decade of ongoing conflict has devastated the country’s healthcare infrastructure, forcing about half of its medical facilities to shut down and severely hampering containment and treatment efforts.
