WHO: 33 polio cases recorded in Yemen since the beginning of the year

The World Health Organization said that it has recorded 33 new cases of polio since the beginning of this year, as the Houthi militia continues to fight vaccines and prevent immunization campaigns.

The organization explained in its weekly report that since the beginning of January 2024, until August 25, 33 cases of the vaccine-derived virus type 2 ( cVDPV2 ) were recorded in Yemen.

The organization's weekly bulletin on polio developments in the Middle East indicated that no new cases were recorded in Yemen during the past week.

A UN statistic issued in mid-July revealed that 257 cases of polio had been recorded in Yemen since the year 2011 during the past four years.

In recent years, a number of viral diseases and epidemics have re-emerged, especially in areas controlled by the Houthi militia, as a result of the collapse of the health system and the obstacles placed by the militia in the way of vaccination campaigns.

On more than one occasion, the Yemeni government warned of the consequences of the Houthi militia preventing vaccinations and the impact of this on the spread of epidemics and viruses throughout the country and neighboring countries, calling on the international community to exert sufficient pressure on the militia to lift the ban on vaccination campaigns.