The cholera outbreak in Yemen stands as one of the most severe public health emergencies globally, ranking Yemen third among countries affected by cholera between March 2024 and August 2025. During this period, Yemen reported approximately 332,000 suspected cholera cases and 1,073 related deaths. Such statistics reveal the tragic scale of the epidemic, exacerbated by the persistent conflict that has devastated the nation’s health infrastructure and humanitarian capacity. The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor highlights that the outbreak has become endemic in Yemen due to widespread infection rates and systemic failures to address root causes, including the collapse of water and sanitation infrastructure.
Conflict and Infrastructure Collapse Driving Cholera Spread
The protracted conflict in Yemen has severely impaired essential public services, especially water and sanitation networks. According to the Euro-Med Monitor, the outbreak “stems directly from the collapse of water and sanitation networks, poor waste management, and obstruction of medical teams and supplies.” The deliberate or indirect effects of war have led to the destruction of pipes, wells, sewage systems, and hospitals, leaving millions without access to clean water and basic hygiene. Overcrowded displacement camps, particularly in governorates such as Taiz, witness widespread poor hygiene and unsafe water conditions ideal for cholera transmission. These camps concentrate vulnerable groups—especially children and women—who bear the brunt of humanitarian crises.
The World Health Organization (WHO) paints a similarly dire picture, emphasizing that cholera imposes “an additional burden on an already stressed health system facing multiple disease outbreaks.” WHO data shows that Yemen accounted for 35% of suspected cholera cases globally and 18% of related deaths in 2024. The resurgence of the outbreak comes amid severe shortages of medical personnel, medicines, and treatment centers, many of which have been forced to close due to funding cuts. Such structural weaknesses make containment and treatment tremendously difficult.
Funding Shortages and Humanitarian Failures
The Yemen Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) reveals a catastrophic funding gap of over 80% in 2025, with only $474 million disbursed from the $2.48 billion required for humanitarian aid by September. The shortage of resources has led to the suspension or reduction of many cholera control programs and treatment activities. WHO’s representative in Yemen, Dr. Arturo Pesigan, stated,
“The outbreak of waterborne diseases like cholera and acute watery diarrhoea imposes an additional burden on an already stressed health system facing multiple disease outbreaks,”
highlighting the urgent need for increased global support. Without adequate funding, treatment centers are closing, and rapid response missions are dwindling, which threatens to worsen the epidemic.
Efforts such as oral cholera vaccine campaigns have reached millions of Yemenis, but these are constrained by insufficient supplies of vaccines and logistical challenges due to conflict zones. The Euro-Med Monitor called on international donors to honor their pledges, emphasizing that
“This shortfall has weakened cholera control programs and disrupted many preventive and treatment activities, despite the significant efforts of local and international health organizations to protect millions of Yemenis from the epidemic.”
Responsibility and Accountability Amid the Crisis
Human rights observers stress that responsibility for maintaining water and sanitation networks lies with Yemen’s de facto authorities and all armed factions operating in the country. The Euro-Med Monitor explicitly states that
“The de facto authorities and parties in Yemen”
are responsible for maintaining, repairing, and protecting these networks and ensuring access to safe water and sanitation services. However, conflict-related blockades, bureaucratic hurdles, and security concerns often obstruct aid delivery and medical response teams.
The humanitarian impasse adds to the epidemic’s deadly toll, with many vulnerable families unable or unwilling to seek treatment due to insecurity and restricted health access. The Monitor warns that actual infections and deaths are believed to be much higher due to weak surveillance systems, limited healthcare coverage, and many families’ reluctance to report cases because of the difficulty in accessing medical facilities. These realities suggest that official statistics likely underestimate the outbreak’s true severity.
Health Impact on Vulnerable Populations
Children and women are disproportionately affected by cholera in Yemen’s conflict-affected zones. Tens of thousands of Yemeni children suffer from acute diarrheal diseases caused by cholera annually, which often leads to life-threatening dehydration and malnutrition. The crowded conditions and lack of sanitation in displacement camps compound transmission risks. The ongoing war has thus created not only physical but also social environments where the disease can rapidly spread and claim more lives, undermining past and current public health achievements.
International Response and the Path Forward
International organizations like WHO continue to coordinate multisectoral response plans with Yemen’s Ministry of Public Health and Population, including rapid outbreak investigations, health worker training, treatment center support, and vaccination efforts. As of late 2024, WHO supported over 25,000 rapid response missions and facilitated oral cholera vaccination campaigns to protect 3.2 million people across affected districts.
Despite these efforts, the battle against cholera in Yemen requires sustained funding, peace efforts to restore infrastructure, and cooperation from all local authorities and armed groups. WHO’s Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean region has called for “solidarity and urgent coordinated public health measures”, underscoring that the current situation is a humanitarian crisis demanding immediate and collective action.
Yemen’s cholera outbreak exemplifies the devastating convergence of conflict, infrastructure collapse, and humanitarian failures. Ranking third globally for cholera infections with over 332,000 suspected cases and 1,073 deaths between early 2024 and mid-2025, the epidemic exacerbates Yemen’s longstanding crises. Funding shortfalls exceeding 80%, the destruction of water and sanitation services, and obstructed medical aid have transformed cholera into an endemic threat. Vulnerable populations, especially children and women in displacement camps, face escalating risks.
As the rainy season and ongoing conflict fuel disease transmission, international stakeholders must rigorously support humanitarian funding, facilitate aid delivery, and press for a political resolution to restore essential services. The health and survival of millions in Yemen depend on urgent, coordinated action at local, national, and international levels.
