The World Health Organization announced that cholera cases in Yemen have risen to more than 260,000 cases, and 879 deaths associated with the disease during the past year, as the country with the highest outbreak of the epidemic among the countries mentioned in the report.

The organization said in a recent report on the cholera outbreak that 260,552 cases were reported throughout Yemen, including 879 deaths, during the period from January 1 to December 29, 2024.

The report stated that Yemen reported 10,502 new cases of the epidemic last December, including 16 deaths.

The World Health Organization said that Hodeidah, Hajjah, Amran and Taiz topped the list of governorates in the number of cholera/acute watery diarrhea (AWD) cases reported during the year, followed by Dhamar and Ibb, then the rest of the other governorates, while Shabwa, Hadramout, Al Mahrah and Socotra had the lowest number of cases.

The UN statistics indicate that the reported cases of cholera and watery diarrhea (AWD) in Yemen represent the highest number recorded among 34 countries worldwide, as documented in the report, and the second in terms of the number of deaths after Sudan.

According to the World Health Organization, the total number of cholera and acute watery diarrhea cases recorded around the world during the past year amounted to 804,721 cases, including 5,805 deaths.

The organization indicated that conflicts, mass displacement, disasters resulting from natural hazards and climate change are factors that contributed to the intensification of the spread of the disease, especially in rural areas and areas affected by floods.