- Title: UN envoy to Yemen urges compromise, warns of Cholera outbreak
- Date: 7th November 2016
- Summary: SANAA, YEMEN (NOVEMBER 7, 2016) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF SANAA AIRPORT SIGN READING (English/Arabic): "SANA'A INT’L AIRPORT" U.N. SPECIAL ENVOY TO YEMEN, ISMAIL OULD CHEIKH, WALKING INTO ROOM (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) U.N. SPECIAL ENVOY TO YEMEN, ISMAIL OULD CHEIKH, SAYING: "I would like to point out and stress the importance of all sides in Yemen to reach a compromise, not for themselves but for the great people of Yemen, to reach a complete and comprehensive peace." JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) U.N. SPECIAL ENVOY TO YEMEN, ISMAIL OULD CHEIKH, SAYING: "This visit has gathered a group of those concerned with humanitarian work and the U.N. organisations. The demand was one, that the situation in Yemen cannot remain as it is, with people dying but no one questioning it, infrastructure being destroyed but no one caring, and the economy shaking but no one initiating reform." JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) U.N. SPECIAL ENVOY TO YEMEN, ISMAIL OULD CHEIKH, SAYING: "I've also urged all of the concerned parties, as well as the international community, to pay attention to the importance of opening trade visits with Yemen and providing planes for transporting the injured and wounded abroad for treatment." JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) U.N. SPECIAL ENVOY TO YEMEN, ISMAIL OULD CHEIKH, SAYING: "I want to draw your attention to the dangerous Cholera health epidemic that the country is facing and that has been spreading quickly. Although we don't have confirmed numbers regarding the outbreak due to the lack of appropriate information facilities, the estimated rate of those infected has increased since my first and second visits from 516 to 2,241 cases today, and that's why I would like to urge that medical appliances should be able to enter Yemen." PODIUM
- Embargoed: 22nd November 2016 14:54
- Keywords: Yemen Sanaa Ismail Ould Cheikh United Nations
- Location: SANAA, YEMEN
- City: SANAA, YEMEN
- Country: Yemen
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Military Conflicts
- Reuters ID: LVA00157G4FNR
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: U.N. envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh, on Monday (November 7) urged all sides involved in the war-battered country to reach a compromise in the 18-month old conflict between a Saudi Arabia-led coalition and the Iran-aligned Houthi group which controls parts of the country.
"The situation in Yemen cannot remain as it is, with people dying but no one questioning it, infrastructure being destroyed but no one caring, and the economy shaking but no one initiating reform," Cheikh said after holding meetings with Houthi rebels and negotiators representing forces loyal to ex-President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
More than half of Yemen's hospitals and clinics are closed or only partially functioning, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), increasing the risk of disease outbreaks.
Only 45 percent of 3,507 health facilities surveyed by WHO were fully functional and accessible, while more than 40 percent of districts faced a "critical" shortage of doctors, WHO said.
Yemen's Health Ministry announced a cholera outbreak in early October in the capital Sanaa. By the end of the month, WHO said the number of suspected cholera cases had ballooned to more than 1,400.
Cheikh also warned about the Cholera epidemic, claiming approximately 2,200 cases had been detected, through accurate figures were hard to pin down due the lack of facilities.
The conflict in Yemen has destroyed much of the country's infrastructure, killed more than 10,000 people and displaced millions.
UNICEF also said the humanitarian disaster in the country has left 7.4 million children in need of medical help and 370,000 at risk of severe acute malnutrition. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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