Aden, Yemen, May 8, 2025 — After battling Yemen's worst cholera outbreak since 2017, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) has concluded its eight-month emergency response, but warns that without global action, the country remains dangerously exposed to future epidemics and worsening health crises.
In 2024 alone, Yemen recorded more than 260,000 suspected cases and over 870 related deaths. Accounting for 35% of all global infections and 18% of all global fatalities resulting from cholera. While the IRC’s efforts helped curb the spread and save lives, deep-rooted issues, including collapsing healthcare services, unsafe water and rising malnutrition, continue to threaten progress.
Dr. Amr Saleh, IRC’s Senior Emergency Health and Nutrition Officer, says,
“Cholera remains a ticking time bomb in Yemen. By fighting cholera, we reached some of Yemen’s most marginalized communities with life-saving care. We saw it firsthand: a child saved just in time, a mother empowered to protect her family, communities tasting clean water after years without it. These efforts prevented further devastation in areas already on the brink. But with millions still cut off from safe water and healthcare, we urgently need global support to protect these fragile gains and stop the next outbreak before it starts.”
Through a rapid and coordinated response, IRC teams and local partners operated emergency treatment centers and rehydration points in some of the hardest-hit governorates, including Amanat Al Asimah, Amran, Al Mahwit, Hajjah, Al Hudaydah, Abyan, and Al Dhale’e. They treated over 19,000 cases of suspected cholera and acute watery diarrhea, distributed 12,000 cholera kits reaching 70,000 people, and promoted lifesaving hygiene practices to over 200,000 individuals.
With prepositioned supplies and hundreds of health workers and hygiene promoters trained to spot and manage cholera early, the IRC also helped communities to protect themselves before outbreaks spread unchecked. Thanks to these efforts, the fatality rate stayed under 1% in areas where the IRC worked—a critical measure of lives saved.
The root causes of the outbreak, however, remain unaddressed. Limited access to clean water, poor sanitation, malnutrition, and a fractured health system continue to leave millions at risk of deadly but preventable diseases.
Isaiah Ogolla, Acting Country Director in Yemen, says,
“With limited funding and rising humanitarian needs, Yemen’s cholera response stands at a critical crossroads. Without urgent action, more lives will be lost, and the already fragile health crisis could spiral further out of control. Investing in Yemen’s health and water systems now is not just a moral imperative, but also a commitment to long-term stability, resilience, and human dignity. Yemenis have made their needs clear: they do not need temporary fixes, but sustained and meaningful support to rebuild their futures.”
The reality is that cholera outbreaks have become dangerously predictable. Seasonal rains flood communities, overwhelm poor sanitation systems, and contaminate essential water sources, triggering outbreaks that devastate a health care system at breaking point.
In 2025, the Humanitarian Needs & Response Plan requires $261 million to reach 10.6 million people with lifesaving health services, while $176 million is needed to deliver clean water and sanitation to more than six million people. As of May 2025, the health sector remains only 14% funded, while water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) remains just above 7% funded. Without urgent investment, millions will remain dangerously exposed to preventable diseases, and the cycle of health emergencies will only deepen.
The IRC urges donors and humanitarian partners to urgently scale up funding for Yemen’s health and WASH sectors, warning that progress will be undone without sustained investment. After more than a decade of conflict, Yemen needs both emergency relief and long-term support to rebuild its health system, expand access to clean water, and strengthen frontline capacity for the crises ahead.
Notes to editors:
About the IRC in Yemen
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has been working in Yemen since 2012 and rapidly scaled up its response in 2015 to address rising humanitarian needs caused by conflict, violence, food insecurity, and economic collapse. The IRC delivers emergency aid, critical healthcare and nutrition services, economic support, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) programming, and protection services, particularly for women and children.
As a frontline responder, the IRC continues to serve as a cornerstone of Yemen’s health and WASH systems, strengthening local capacity, delivering integrated services, and helping communities build long-term resilience against future health crises.
Between 2022 and 2024, the IRC reached over five million people across 11 crisis-affected governorates in Yemen, including 1.7 million people in 2024 alone, more than one million of whom were women. Our work aligns with the IRC’s vision to support people affected by conflict and crisis—especially women, girls, migrants, and marginalized groups—by providing life-saving services, meeting basic needs, and building resilience through integrated approaches.