GENEVA, June 24 (Xinhua) -- More than two years of heavy conflict in Yemen has resulted in world's worst cholera outbreak there that has killed over 1,300 people and suspiciously infected more than 200,000, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Saturday.
The deadly cholera outbreak is the direct consequence of two years of heavy conflict in the country that started in March 2015. It has collapsed health, water and sanitation systems, cutting off 14.5 million people from regular access to clean water and sanitation and increasing the ability of the disease to spread, said the UN agencies.
In just two months, cholera has spread to almost every governorate of the war-torn country, resulting in more than 200,000 suspected cases, while children accounted for nearly one quarter of the 1,300 victims.
To make it worse, rising rates of malnutrition have weakened children's health and made them more vulnerable to diseases.
UNICEF and the WHO, as well as their partners, are racing to stop the acceleration of this deadly outbreak, reaching people with clean water, adequate sanitation and medical treatment.
However, they said an estimated 30,000 dedicated local health workers, who are playing the largest role in ending this outbreak, have not been paid their salaries for nearly ten months.
