Cases of leishmaniasis have increased significantly in a number of areas under the control of the Houthi militia (classified on the terrorist list), amid recent warnings by local and international organizations of the spread of a new wave of infectious diseases.

Medical sources reported that a series of new reports had been received since the beginning of last October, until the end of last January, from rural and remote villages in several governorates, including Sana’a, Dhamar, Ibb, Al-Hudaydah, Hajjah, Al-Bayda, and Al-Dhalea, indicating the emergence of new infections and deaths. As a result of infection with the disease.

Leishmaniasis is a parasitic, contagious skin disease that affects the poorest groups in Yemen, which is witnessing the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. Its appearance is linked to several causes, most notably malnutrition, poor housing conditions, and a weak immune system, according to doctors.

Medical sources attributed the reasons for the increase in cases of the disease to the continued deterioration of the health sector and the Houthi militia’s plundering of local support and aid allocated by international bodies to the regional center in Sana’a, as a result of a significant decline in its services.

The Regional Center for Leishmania Control provided full services to most of the Yemeni governorates, in partnership with the American and European academies and the International Society of Dermatology.

The center’s services have declined significantly in recent years, compared to the years before the Houthi coup in September 2014, which doctors and patients’ families also consider a systematic targeting of citizens.

They held the Iranian-backed Houthi militia responsible for the increase in infection cases and the deterioration of the health condition in this way for hundreds of patients.

In this context, the World Health Organization stated in a recent report that it had monitored about 15,000 cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Yemen during the year 2023, indicating that its victims are increasing as a result of its continued spread.

The organization reported that the victims of the epidemic are among the poorest groups, and it is linked to several causes, most notably: malnutrition, displacement, poor housing conditions, a weak immune system, lack of financial resources, and others.

It stressed the importance of establishing or strengthening a surveillance system in order to assess trends in these diseases, and establishing a multi-sectoral coordination mechanism, especially in areas endemic for major leishmaniasis.