The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that polio cases in Yemen witnessed a significant increase during the current year 2024, more than four times what it was in the previous year.

The Regional Office of the World Health Organization for the Eastern Mediterranean (emro.who) said in its weekly bulletin that the number of cases of vaccine-derived polio virus type 2 (cVDPV2) in Yemen reached 33 cases, during the period between January 1... January and August 25, 2024.

According to the bulletin data, the number of polio cases reported in Yemen during the first eight months of this year represents an increase of 313% compared to the number of cases recorded in the entire last year 2023, which amounted to only 8 cases.

The regional office indicated that Yemen leads the countries of the region in the number of polio cases this year, accounting for 89% of the total cases recorded in the Eastern Mediterranean region, while the remaining percentage is distributed among Somalia (3 cases) and the occupied Palestinian territories (1 case). Only one), which was reported on July 25, in the Deir al-Balah area of ​​Gaza Governorate.

The bulletin explained that last year witnessed a lower number of cases of polio, as only 16 cases were recorded, divided equally between Yemen and Somalia, with 8 cases in each.

It is noteworthy that the Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean at the World Health Organization includes 23 countries, namely: Jordan, Afghanistan, UAE, Pakistan, Bahrain, Tunisia, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Djibouti, Sudan, Somalia, Iraq, Oman, Palestine, Qatar. , Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Egypt, Morocco, Saudi Arabia.