Following 19 months of fighting, the armed conflict and its consequences continue to drive the large-scale humanitarian emergency in Yemen. On 8 October 2016, airstrikes hit a large community hall, killing more than 140 and injuring 600 people according to local health authorities. The UN has condemned the attack and called for effective investigations into allegations of international crimes and violations of international law. A UN-brokered 72-hour ceasefire from 19 to 22 October 2016 provided some respite to Yemenis, but it was short-lived and breached by warring parties. The Special Envoy for Yemen has now presented a new roadmap for peace for parties to the conflict.

An outbreak of cholera is spreading throughout Yemen. To date 71 cases have been confirmed in 11 governorates; eight people have already died in three governorates; and there are over 2,000 suspected cases across the country.

Currently, only 45 per cent of health facilities are functional across Yemen, and even in those, the capacity to respond to the outbreak is severely compromised by the lack of equipment, medicines and personnel. The overall cost of the cholera outbreak response plan stands at $22 million.