Saudis pledge $33.7 million to UN to fight cholera in Yemen

Nurses tend to a boy who is suspected of being infected with cholera at a cholera treatment center in Sanaa, Yemen, May 15, 2017. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah SEARCH "CHOLERA KHALED" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia has pledged $33.7 million to help the World Health Organization (WHO) eradicate cholera in Yemen, where the disease has killed nearly 2,000 people, the WHO said on Sunday.
Gregory Hartl, a spokesman for the organization, confirmed that Saudi Arabia had signed an agreement committing the funds to help the WHO battle the spread of cholera.
In a statement on Thursday, Saudi Arabia said the money committed to WHO was part of an overall effort to combat the cholera outbreak in Yemen.
The Kingdom said it also pledged $33 million to the UN’s children agency, UNICEF, for a project to improve water and sanitation facilities which are “drivers of the epidemic.”
The Saudi aid was initially announced in June by Crown Prime Mohammed bin Salman.
Last week, the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, also pledged $10 million to help the WHO stem the spread of cholera in Yemen.