Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support his Department is providing to help tackle the cholera epidemic in Yemen.

The UK is deeply concerned about the rise in cholera in Yemen this year, with a suspected 300,000 cases recorded between January and April 2019. In response, the UK rapidly disbursed £18 million last month to the UN’s pooled fund and UNICEF to help tackle the issue. We have seen a decline in suspected cholera cases in the last five weeks and hope this continues.

To help prepare for outbreaks of cholera, the UK is leading a joint Met Office, NASA and US scientist team to accurately predict where the disease will spread to in Yemen. We contributed 25% towards the cost of cholera vaccination campaigns this year which have vaccinated over 2 million people in both Houthi and Government of Yemen controlled areas to date.