Médecins Sans Frontières - REPORT: Cholera in Yemen (ENG)

Unique Identifier Code / URN MSF273377

Date taken / Date Recorded 22/04/2019 12:00 AM

Country Yemen

Commissioning section MSF-FRANCE

Photographer / videographer / producer Benoit Finck

Copyright MSF

Usage Rights (MSF) MSF Fundraising, MSF Publications, Social Media

Formal Consent Copy available yes

Editor's rating ★★★★★ (C)

Video format h264 (Main) (avc1 / 0x31637661)

Duration 3m23s

Maximum Size 1920px × 1080px 339.10 MB

Additional Information / Shotlist YEMEN // Script Cholera

Report

SANA’A
YEMEN

Cholera hit Yemen early this year, and the number of cases increased hugely between January and March

MSF cholera treatment centre in Sana’a

This elderly lady has been vomiting

Thomas Lauvin, MSF Emergency Coordinator (in French)
We start by determining how ill the patient is,
and evaluating the extent of dehydration.
What we need to do is to compensate for fluid lost from vomiting and diarrhoea.
Within a few days the patient recovers spontaneously.
If we can compensate for loss of fluid, the patient is good to go home.
When left untreated, cholera mortality can be very high— in some cases as much as 40%.
But with proper treatment, the mortality rate is really very low.
In this centre, it’s around 0.2%.
So with the right care, cholera can be treated successfully.

While it’s easy to treat cholera,
people have to be able to get to a health centre fast.

MSF Cholera Treatment Centre in Khamer

Fiona Bayn, MSF nurse (in English)
The continuous war and the financial difficulties facing a lot of the population make it very hard for patients to access healthcare. We recently had a period when fuel was not available on the market. And fuel costs more and more, therefore patients who don’t have the financial means are having difficulty accessing healthcare. Some can’t even get enough food.

This mother of four children has lost her son to cholera

She’s come with her twins who are showing similar symptoms.

How many times has she had diarrhoea?
Once, then I changed her diaper twice.
So, it’s twice.
My son had diarrhoea during the night.

He died while we were on the road
because we couldn’t find the money to pay for a car to transport him.
That’s why it took us so long. He died before we could find a car.

Treated in time, the twins have recovered.

This solution has to be mixed with water in a bottle.
Carry on washing your hands after you use the toilet,
cut your nails short and keep the children clean.
Do all that and you won’t catch the disease.

Hadi has lost everything in the fighting.
He developed cholera symptoms a couple of days ago.

Life was good to us,
But then war broke out.
The missiles and air strikes have destroyed everything.
My brothers have been killed and my son’s wounded.
He’s still in intensive care.
And my house is totally destroyed.

In May 2019, the number of cholera cases in Yemen decreased hugely
But cholera is endemic in Yemen
With the health system in a state of collapse, there has been a resurgence in cholera, diphtheria and measles