The UAE plays a major role in fighting the cholera epidemic in Yemen, according to a senior official from the World Health Organisation, WHO.

"At this point in time, the Emirates Red Crescent, ERC, is our only strong partner in Yemen in fighting the cholera epidemic and other serious health issues," said, Dr. Mamunur Rahman Malik, WHO Coordinator of the Health Security and Preparedness Cluster in the Department of Communicable Disease Control.

The WHO official made these statements today, during a press conference organised by the ERC at its headquarters in Abu Dhabi.

Dr. Malik also said that people in Yemen hold the WHO’s partnership with the Emirates Red Crescent, in high esteem, because they understand that the organisation was offering its support without any political considerations.UAE

"The ERC is also managing routine medical services in Aden. You need partners who are credible and who have the confidence of the people. Around 40–50 percent of health facilities in the country are not functioning. In this situation, we need to make sure that the health facilities are scaled up by our partners and by ourselves," Dr. Malik explained.

Dr. Malik went on to say that in the current situation in Yemen, people fear there could be discrimination in the distribution of medicines and health services, "but our partnership has proven that we are going to solve the problem without any discrimination, targeting the neediest segments. People feel they get what they need and we need to scale this up further in order to expand our reach," he explained, appealing to all countries and philanthropic organisations to consider providing humanitarian help to Yemen as a matter of urgent priority. 

The WHO representative said that the situation in Aden and some other areas was normal, in the sense that "security was quite better than in Sana'a. It is crucially important that the Emirates Red Crescent continues to manage and sustain their support in Aden and run routine health services so outbreaks of diseases will not happen there," he concluded.

Dr. Mohammed Al Falahi, ERC Secretary-General, also addressed the press conference, highlighting the UAE’s multi-pronged efforts in collaboration with the World Health Organisation in addressing the health crisis in Yemen.