- The Houthis are obstructing humanitarian work and access to information in Yemen, worsening a cholera outbreak that is spreading across the country.
- The cholera outbreak will continue to claim lives as long as Yemeni authorities obstruct aid, and the authorities and the international community fail to invest adequately in measures to prevent and treat the disease.
- Yemeni authorities should remove obstacles to the delivery of aid, including public health information. The Houthis should end arbitrary detentions, and release UN and civil society staff and humanitarian workers currently being held.
(Beirut) – Yemeni authorities are obstructing humanitarian work and worsening a deadly cholera outbreak spreading across Yemen, Human Rights Watch said today. All parties to the conflict – including the Houthis, the Yemeni government, and the Southern Transitional Council (STC) – have obstructed aid and access to information, and failed to take adequate preventative measures to limit the spread of cholera. Houthi security forces have also arrested and threatened members of civil society, including aid workers, in their recent wave of arrests.
Between 1 January and 19 July 2024, there were approximately 95,000 suspected cases of cholera in Yemen, according to data collected by aid agencies; these cases resulted in at least 258 deaths, according to a person working within the agency. Yemen Health Clustera group of humanitarian organizations, medical experts and donors led by the World Health Organization (WHO). All parties to the conflict should stop violating Yemenis’ right to health, and the Houthis should end arbitrary arrests of civil society members and aid workers.
« Obstruction of humanitarian activities by Yemeni authorities, particularly the Houthis, contributes to the spread of cholera “, said Niku Jafarnia, Yemen and Bahrain researcher at Human Rights Watch. More than 200 people have already died from this preventable disease, and the Houthis’ detention of aid workers poses a serious threat that further limits vital humanitarian aid. »
Human Rights Watch interviewed seven doctors working in hospitals across Yemen, as well as several other health professionals, including about the authorities’ response to the cholera outbreak. Human Rights Watch also spoke with 20 officials from humanitarian agencies, including doctors and epidemiologists, and a government health official.
On July 24, Human Rights Watch wrote to the Yemeni government, the Houthis, and the Southern Transitional Council to request additional information. A Yemeni government official, in a meeting with Human Rights Watch, explained that many of the challenges in combating the cholera outbreak were related to a lack of funding, and provided information on efforts to inform the Yemeni public about the outbreak. The STC responded that Human Rights Watch should direct its questions to the Yemeni government; however, the STC oversees Yemen’s Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation (MoPIC) and the Yemeni Ministry of Social Affairs. Both ministries are supposed to facilitate humanitarian aid but are implicated in obstructing it. The Houthi authorities did not respond to Human Rights Watch’s letter.
Yemen has been embroiled in conflict for nearly a decade. Beginning in March 2015, a Saudi Arabian- and United Arab Emirates-led coalition, allied with government forces, carried out numerous indiscriminate and disproportionate airstrikes that killed thousands of civilians in Houthi-controlled areas; these attacks also hit civilian structures, including hospitals, in violation of the laws of war. The warring parties damaged and destroyed at least 120 medical establishmentsas well as water supply and sanitation facilities.
The Saudi-led coalition has not conducted airstrikes since April 2022, when the warring parties agreed to a ceasefire that has largely held; however, neither the coalition nor the other warring parties have been held accountable for previous civilian harm, nor have they provided adequate reparations. Yet these attacks have weakened the health and sanitation infrastructure, already weakened by underinvestment, and have contributed to the immense humanitarian crisis Yemen faces today.
Currently, more than 18 millions people in Yemen, out of a total population of approximately 30 million, are in need of humanitarian assistance. However, funding for aid agencies is being cut each year, at least in part due to aid restrictions imposed by the ruling authorities. According to several sources, the spread and impact of cholera in Yemen has been exacerbated by damage to health infrastructure, lack of clean water, high rates of malnutrition, and a growing rate of non-vaccination due to misinformation spread by the Houthis about vaccines.
Continuation of the press release in English.
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