The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Monday (September 18th) urged Yemen to approve cholera vaccinations it has offered to help contain an epidemic that could affect nearly a million people by year's end, AFP reported.
Yemen had asked the UN health agency earlier this year for doses of the vaccine, said Dominique Legros, the agency's cholera specialist.
The WHO sent a million doses in June, only to see the Yemeni government change its mind, leading the UN to reassign the vaccines to Somalia and Sudan, Legros said.
Asked about Yemen's reversal, Legros said only that discussions with countries about vaccinations could be "complicated", noting the lack of familiarity with them in affected communities, especially in the case of newer vaccines like the one for cholera.
"We are still in negotiation with the government in Yemen to make sure we can also use (vaccines) to help control" the outbreak, he said.
Last week, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said the cholera crisis in Yemen had reached "colossal proportions", warning it could affect 850,000 people by the end of the year.
