The General Secretariat of the League of Arab States expressed grave concern over the cholera outbreak in Lebanon and Yemen, especially in light of the high rates of infections and deaths.
The Secretariat appealed to Arab Member States, the international community, and Arab and international relief organizations to act immediately and expeditiously to provide urgent health assistance to support Lebanon’s health sector and Yemen to strengthen their ability to confront this dangerous disease.
In this context, the General Secretary of the Arab States League directed the Social Affairs Sector (Department of Health and Humanitarian Assistance)/ (Health and Humanitarian Aid Department) to take all necessary action with the ministries of health of the two/ countries and Arab and international agencies and organizations to provide urgent health needs to address the cholera outbreak.
The General Secretariat called on Member States to provide anti-cholera vaccines to Lebanon and Yemen and speed up the vaccination process to confront this emergency health disaster, especially since the two countries are experiencing unprecedented exceptional circumstances, compounded by the cholera outbreak, which entails health risks that will not only threaten them but the entire region.
It is noteworthy that Yemen has experienced an outbreak of cholera due to the ravages of war in the country since 2014, registering more than 2.5 million infections and more than 4 thousand deaths by mid-2021. Lebanon has reported more than 1,400 suspected cases throughout the country, including 381 laboratory-confirmed cases and 17 deaths.
Since the beginning of the outbreak, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has been providing life-saving health, water, hygiene, and sanitation supplies and services to affected areas.