Today in Yemen, 2.2 million children are malnourished, including 462,000 who are severely acutely malnourished.

Yemen’s food crisis is being made even more difficult by the outbreak of Cholera in recent weeks. Some 332 people have died from the disease, with 32,000 suspected cases of cholera reported. Up to a third of cases are estimated to be among children with a reminder being issued by experts in the field that malnourished children are particularly vulnerable to infection. Hospitals are struggling to deal with the crisis amid a shortage of medics, medicines and fluids.

Cholera could spread quickly in a country where health, water and waste management services are collapsing as a result of over two years of conflict. UNICEF Yemen is working non stop to address the causes by disinfecting water sources and promoting hygiene and by providing medical supplies.

UNICEF is working with partners to provide health centres with diarrhoea disease kits, oral rehydration salts and water treatment tablets.

The second strand of our response plan is to work on preventing the spread of the disease by disinfecting water sources in affected areas and by promoting safe hygiene practices.

These photos are from two UNICEF water projects in Sana’a, the Yemeni city most-severely hit by cholera. Some 25% of Cholera cases reported are in the area of Sana’a.

UNICEF fills water tankers from this source, for distribution to houses in Sana’a.

A small girl queues for clean water. Children are often given the responsibility of collecting water for the household, travelling long distances carrying heavy containers of water.

UNICEF team and partners check on the water supply.

A UNICEF staff member purifies a tank of water.

Staff on the ground are telling us that this outbreak of Cholera is more severe than the last outbreak, which occurred in October of 2016.

All photographs reproduced with thanks to UNICEF Yemen.