A recent international report has revealed that since the beginning of this year, Yemen has registered 32 new cases of polio, with the majority occurring in areas controlled by the Houthi militias, which have been preventing vaccination campaigns against the virus.
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) in its weekly report on the new polio virus, stated that 32 new cases of polio have been reported in Yemen since the start of the year. Additionally, in the past week, 11 new cases of the vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) were reported in Yemen. These were recorded as four cases in Hodeidah, four in Amran, and one case each in Al Bayda, Taiz, and Dhamar.
Mid-month, UNICEF announced that the number of cVDPV2 polio cases in Yemen had risen to 257 since 2021. The Houthi-controlled regions (northern and western Yemen) are experiencing a rising outbreak of several diseases and epidemics that could be prevented with vaccines, including polio. This is due to the continued prevention by the militia of carrying out vaccination campaigns in their areas of control.
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