The United Nations says Yemen has been hit by a serious cholera outbreak, with an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 new cases surfacing every day.
Geert Cappelaere, the Middle East director of UNICEF, told the Associated Press in an interview published on June 3 that there have been 70,000 suspected cholera cases reported in the past month.
Authorities in the capital Sanaa on May 14 declared a state of emergency and called for international help.
Cappelaere said the outbreak has hit 19 of the 22 districts of Yemen, which has been involved in a three-year civil war.
Cappelaere warned that, unless urgent aid reaches the country soon, cholera cases could double every two weeks and "spread beyond Yemen."
"It is sad today, but we hope the cholera outbreak will be the turning point in turning people's attention to Yemen," he said. "Cholera is not going to be stopped by any border."
"Yemen is one of the worst places in the world to be a child," he said.
Sanaa is controlled by the armed Huthi movement, which is aligned with Iran and fighting a Saudi-led coalition.
More than 10,000 people have been killed and millions displaced in the civil war, which has also destroyed much of the country's infrastructure.
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