Why child-killer diseases like dengue, cholera and mpox have surged worldwide

A mother holds her son as he receives his daily injection while being treated for mpox at the Kavumu health center in Kabare territory, South Kivu region, DR Congo, on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024. (Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Short Url
Updated 26 January 2025
Follow

Why child-killer diseases like dengue, cholera and mpox have surged worldwide

  • Three child-killer diseases witnessed major resurgences in 2024, fuelled partly by climate crises and conflict
  • Poor sanitation, displacement, and war-damaged infrastructure left millions vulnerable to fatal illnesses

DUBAI: When the UN launched the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, it set out a bold action plan to eliminate premature death and needless suffering caused by preventable diseases by 2030.

With just five years to go, the world appears to be moving backwards. Indeed, 2024 actually witnessed an alarming surge in a triad of preventable or manageable child-killer diseases.

Dengue, cholera and mpox returned with a vengeance, claiming the lives of thousands of children. With their weaker immune systems, the young are particularly vulnerable to infection and often fatal complications.





Bangladeshi children suffering from dengue fever rest at a ward at the Mugda Medical College and Hospital in Dhaka on August 8, 2019. (AFP file)

This multifaceted health emergency has compounded the suffering of already stricken communities in impoverished countries and conflict zones, where climate change, inequality and underfunded health systems have left many without access to basic care or sanitation.

“Currently, about half of the world’s population is not fully covered by essential, quality, affordable health services, denying them their right to health,” said Dr. Revati Phalkey, global health and nutrition director at Save the Children International.

“Health systems are under enormous pressure to deliver universal health coverage, with the majority of countries experiencing worsening or no significant change in service coverage since the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015.”

According to the World Health Organization, dengue fever — a mosquito-borne disease that causes severe fever, pain and in some cases death — saw an alarming spike in 2024.

Dengue cases doubled from 6.65 million in 2023 to 13.3 million in 2024. The total number of dengue-related deaths globally last year was 9,600. The WHO estimates some four billion people are now at risk of dengue related viruses. 




A woman carries her children while workers spray mosquito repellent as part of a prevention campaign against dengue fever in Banda Aceh on January 22, 2025. (AFP)

Children who play outside with limited protection against mosquitoes are often more exposed and therefore more vulnerable to the virus than adults. The absence of mosquito nets where children sleep is also a key contributing factor.

In developing countries in Southeast Asia, parts of Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, dengue fever is especially prevalent. Informal settlements in these regions often lack basic infrastructure for waste management, sewage or clean water.




Infographic courtesy of US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

These conditions offer a fertile breeding ground for mosquitoes and for the disease to spread. Meanwhile, rising temperatures associated with climate change have expanded the range of mosquito habitats, allowing them to flourish across a wider region.

The spread of dengue, sometimes known as “breakbone fever” due to the severe fatigue it causes, represents “an alarming trend” according to WHO Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebereyesus, with 5 billion people at risk of being infected by 2050.

FASTFACT

13,600

Deaths from dengue, cholera, or mpox in 2024.

Dengue is not the only danger. In Yemen, Sudan and Gaza, where conflict has displaced thousands and destroyed critical civilian infrastructure, cholera has become a major threat to adults and children alike.

A deadly bacterial infection spread through contaminated water, cholera is another consequence of poor sanitation. The infection causes rapid dehydration through severe diarrhea and vomiting, which can quickly lead to death if left untreated.

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East released a statement in June warning of a cholera outbreak in the Gaza Strip amid severe water shortages and damage to sanitation services.




A woman and children sit outside tents sheltering displaced Palestinians in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 8, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (AFP file)

Several UN agencies have issued warnings about the high risk of infectious diseases in overcrowded refugee camps across the Middle East and North Africa, where displaced households have limited access to clean water and proper sanitation.

In Sudan, as of last November, the WHO reported more than 37,514 cholera cases across the country and at least 1,000 deaths. “We are racing against time,” Sheldon Yett, the UN children’s fund representative to Sudan, said in a statement in September.

“We must take decisive action to tackle the outbreaks as well as invest in the health systems underpinning the essential services vulnerable children and families in Sudan so desperately need.”




A health care worker attends to a young patient at a cholera treatment center in Gedaref state, Sudan,  November 2024. (Photo courtesy of UNOCHA / Yao Chen)

Despite efforts by the international community to provide vaccines and clean water, outbreaks in conflict zones have proven difficult to keep under control. The collapse of sanitation services, in particular, has left millions of children vulnerable to the disease.

Although the overall number of cholera cases worldwide fell by 16 percent in 2024, there has been a 126 percent spike in the number of deaths as a result of the disease.

Another health crisis threatening the world’s children is mpox, formerly known as monkeypox. The virus reemerged in 2024 to devastating effect across parts of Africa, with children suffering the most severe consequences.

Once a rare disease confined to rural areas of Central and West Africa, mpox has now become a significant public health crisis with thousands of reported infections, particularly among children under the age of five.

Mpox, contracted through contact with infected people and animals, bodily fluids and contaminated objects, causes fever, rashes, and painful lesions that in turn can lead to other illnesses and afflictions such as pneumonia and blindness.

While it can be controlled using vaccines, such resources remain scarce in parts of Africa. Having already been overwhelmed by Ebola and malaria, the region’s health systems are stretched to the limit, leaving treatment out of reach for thousands of children.

Moreover, poor sanitation, crowded living conditions, and rapid urbanization have increased the risk of transmission.




Dr. Robert Musole, medical director of the Kavumu hospital, visits patients recovering from mpox in the village of Kavumu, 30km north of Bukavu in eastern DR Congo on August 24, 2024. (AFP file)

Children in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo have been the worst affected by the mpox virus, with the WHO declaring the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. Around 75 percent of cases are in children under the age of 10.

The surge in these diseases reflects the broader, interconnected crises faced by the world, where the most vulnerable populations are left with limited means to recover and adapt.

In wealthier countries, child deaths resulting from cholera and dengue have dropped significantly thanks to well-functioning sanitation services and accessible healthcare systems that have weathered the blows of the coronavirus pandemic.




A boy carries a child to receive treatment at a medical centre near a camp for people displaced by conflict in Abs in Yemen's Hajjah province on August 27, 2024. (AFP)

However, in low income countries, particularly those in the midst of conflict, healthcare systems are extremely vulnerable, with medical staff overstretched, medicines in short supply, and wards overwhelmed by the sick and wounded.

The grim reality for millions of children across the world underscores the urgent need for global action.

“We need greater global investments to build strong health systems that are able to deliver essential health services, especially vaccines and essential medicines, while responding to global health emergencies including emerging issues like mpox,” said Dr. Phalkey.




A medic gives the cholera vaccination to a child in the town of Maaret Misrin in the rebel-held northern part of the northwestern Idlib province on March 7, 2023. (AFP

“It is time for governments and the international community to step up and ensure all children are protected against disease and have access to adequate health services when they need them and where they need them.

“Every child has the right to survive and thrive, and it is our collective responsibility to deliver on this.”
 

 


Gaza conflict spurs hunger strike by California student activists

Updated 25 May 2025
Follow

Gaza conflict spurs hunger strike by California student activists

  • Students on several campuses are protesting against Israeli actions in Gaza 

DUBAI: Maya Abdallah’s message is clear: she will not eat until her university — the University of California, Los Angeles — hears her out on her cause, the crisis in Gaza.

The 23-year-old film student is Palestinian-Lebanese and is on hunger strike, protesting against her university’s funding of Israeli businesses that allegedly invest in manufacturing weapons being used by Israeli forces on the people of Gaza.

“I want to open a renegotiation for divestment … billions of dollars are spent on things like the gas that’s going into the Israeli tanks, to the manufacturers of the weapons used against the people of Gaza,” Abdallah said.

UC Chief Investment Officer Jagdeep Singh Bachher said in an official statement in 2024 that the university had $32 billion in assets in various companies, $3.3 billion of that in groups with ties to weapons manufacturers and $163 million in the investment firm BlackRock.

Abdallah is not alone. Although she is currently the only student at UCLA on hunger strike, students at other universities in California are also striking, including California State University Dominguez Hills and California State University Long Beach.

Hoping to be heard by policymakers and officials at their institutions, these students are now on Day 21 of their strikes.

So far, San Francisco State University and University of San Francisco have announced in official statements their divestment from companies such as Palantir and GE Aerospace who allegedly supply weapon systems and technology to the Israeli military.

“I didn’t just come up with the idea of a hunger strike. I saw students across California do it, and I wanted to contribute, even if I was the only one at UCLA,” Abdallah said.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by maya (@mayaayooni)

Her strike began on May 9. Abdullah, who is subsisting only on liquids, said it has been harder than she anticipated, but she is willing to push herself.

“This isn’t easy. I’m exhausted, I’m hungry, and sometimes I’m scared. But none of that compares to what Palestinians in Gaza are facing right now. I remind myself of that every single day,” she said.

Abdallah said the hardest part of the strike is the mental strain of starving herself.

“More than the toll starvation takes on your body, it’s what it does to your brain. I can’t imagine the people who’ve suffered the loss of family members, left their homes, and felt abandoned in every way; now also going without food and dealing with that added stress. For me, there’s food around me. I could end my strike and eat. That’s not an option for them,” she said.

In addition to studying film, Abdallah is a social media entertainer turned activist, with more than two million followers on various platforms.

“I’ve tried protesting and raising awareness, but this was one of the things I hadn’t tried yet … when you’re fighting for such a cause, you have to try literally everything in your toolbox,” she said.

On the ninth day of her strike, Abdallah collapsed during a protest on campus and was rushed to the emergency room in an ambulance.

In a video she posted on her social media accounts, Abdallah said that first responders discovered her heart rate was 40 percent higher than the average person.

Since then, Abdallah is back home resting and is still actively fighting for her cause on campus and on social media.

The UN in 2024 reported that more than 80 percent of educational institutes in Gaza were damaged or destroyed.

“There are no universities left in Gaza, and yet our university is helping fund that destruction. It’s disgusting hypocrisy,” she added.

Abdallah said her university was aware of her strike, and that campus police as well as social workers are in contact with her, yet no official acknowledgement of her strike has been made. Even after she was admitted to hospital, Abdallah said no one from the university responded to check on her.

A UCLA spokesperson told Arab News the university supports freedom of expression of different points of view.

“We strongly urge all Bruins to peacefully express themselves and exercise their first amendment rights in ways that are safe. We will continue to make support available to all students through UCLA’s Student Health Services and other campus offices,” the spokesperson said.

Many people online have criticized Abdallah for her decision to strike, claiming that it will not lead to any meaningful outcome. But she said she does not care.

“An ‘indefinite hunger strike’ is ridiculous. She’s only harming herself. Ridiculous actions,” said a commenter on Instagram. Another said she was “A spoiled rich girl doing spoiled rich girl stuff. Your university owes you nothing but an overpriced gender studies degree. Grow up girl.” Another said “you go girl! Starve yourself. That’ll free Gaza.”

After a surge of student protests and encampments on university campuses in April 2024 to raise awareness about the crisis in Gaza after the Israeli military aggression on Gaza intensified in 2023, UCLA released a statement saying it would not divest from Israel.

“The University of California has consistently opposed calls for boycott against and divestment from Israel. While the University affirms the right of our community members to express diverse viewpoints, a boycott of this sort impinges on the academic freedom of our students and faculty and the unfettered exchange of ideas on our campuses,” according to the statement on UCLA’s official website.

Abdallah, who was on campus during the 2024 protests and encampments, described the situation as brutal but she felt motivated to see so many people fight for her cause.

“I felt pure joy that I have literally never felt at any other time in my life. To see so many people care about the thing that I’ve been begging people to care about my entire life,” she said.

But that feeling soon turned to sadness after experiencing brutality and pressure to stop. Abdallah recalled being attacked by a group of counter-strikers who she said got very aggressive and released mice into the encampments and set off fireworks.

Abdallah said it took a long time for law enforcement officers and police to arrive on the scene and the violence escalated.

“I was there the night the cops stormed and broke it up. They came in with rubber bullets and the batons. I was so traumatized,” she said.

At the time of the encampments, The Guardian reported that demonstrators told local media that police were “creating chaos” as they tried to peacefully demonstrate with “hands up”, and video footage showed chaotic scenes of baton-carrying police used flash-bang stun grenades to disperse protesters.

Abdallah said police were called several times during the violent night raids led by counter-protesters on the encampments but no one showed up.

A spokesperson for California Governor Gavin Newsom last year criticized the “limited and delayed campus law enforcement response”" to the unrest as “unacceptable.”

Arab News asked UCLA officials for a statement regarding the alleged police brutality that occurred on campus, but they have yet to reply.

 


Bangladesh court begins first trial of Hasina-era officials

Updated 25 May 2025
Follow

Bangladesh court begins first trial of Hasina-era officials

  • Court in Dhaka accepted a formal charge against eight police officials in connection to the killing of six protesters on August 5 last year
  • It is the first formal charge in any case related to killings in last year’s student-led uprising that ended Hasina’s iron-fisted rule of 15 years

DHAKA: Bangladesh began the first trial on Sunday at a special court prosecuting former senior figures connected to the ousted government of Sheikh Hasina, the chief prosecutor said.

The court in the capital Dhaka accepted a formal charge against eight police officials in connection to the killing of six protesters on August 5 last year, the day Hasina fled the country as the protesters stormed her palace.

The eight men are charged with crimes against humanity. Four are in custody and four are being tried in absentia.

“The formal trial has begun,” Tajul Islam, chief prosecutor of Bangladesh’s domestic International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), told reporters.

“The prosecution believes that this prosecution will be able to prove the crimes done by the accused,” he said.

It is the first formal charge in any case related to the killings during last year’s student-led uprising, which ended Hasina’s iron-fisted rule of 15 years.

Up to 1,400 people were killed between July and August 2024 when Hasina’s government launched a brutal campaign to silence the protesters, according to the United Nations.

The list of those facing trial includes Dhaka’s former police commissioner, Habibur Rahman, who is among those being tried in absentia.

Hasina also fled by helicopter to India, her old ally.

She remains in self-imposed exile, defying Dhaka’s extradition request to face charges of crimes against humanity.

The launch of the trials of senior figures from Hasina’s government is a key demand of several of the political parties now jostling for power as the South Asian nation awaits elections that the interim government has vowed will take place before June 2026.

Islam said the eight men were accused of “different responsibilities,” including the most senior for “superior command responsibility, some for direct orders.. (and) some for participation.”

He said he was confident of a successful prosecution.

“We have submitted as much evidence as required to prove crimes against humanity, both at a national and an international standard,” he said.

Among that evidence, he said, was video footage of the violence, as well as voice recordings of Hasina in “conversations with different people where she ordered the killing of the protesters using force and lethal weapons.”

The ICT was set up by Hasina in 2009 to investigate crimes committed by the Pakistani army during Bangladesh’s war for independence in 1971.

It sentenced numerous prominent political opponents to death over the following years and became widely seen as a means for Hasina to eliminate rivals.


Kerala on alert as toxic cargo ship sinks in Arabian Sea

Updated 25 May 2025
Follow

Kerala on alert as toxic cargo ship sinks in Arabian Sea

  • Vessel loaded with 84 metric tons of diesel and 367 metric tons of furnace oil
  • Strong water currents off Kerala complicate pollution response, expert says

NEW DELHI: India’s southern state of Kerala was on high alert Sunday after a Liberian-flagged vessel carrying hazardous cargo sank off its coast.

The Indian Ministry of Defense said the 184-meter MSC Elsa 3 container ship was en route to Kochi from Vizhinjam on Saturday when it issued a distress call.

All 24 members of the vessel’s crew — which included nationals of Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, and the Philippines — were rescued by the Coast Guard and the Navy.

“The vessel went down with 640 containers, including 13 with hazardous cargo and 12 containing calcium carbide,” the ministry said.

It did not specify what other hazardous substances were onboard, but calcium carbide becomes dangerous on contact with water, producing acetylene gas, which is flammable and explosive.

The vessel was also loaded with more than 84 metric tons of diesel and 367 metric tons of furnace oil.

Diesel and furnace oil are both classified as marine pollutants. They are toxic to marine life and can contaminate coastal ecosystems.

The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority issued a public warning on Saturday, when the ship started losing containers in the Arabian Sea. The authority’s secretary told reporters that “there is a chance the cargo, including containers and oil, will wash ashore.”

The Indian Coast Guard has deployed spill detection systems.

“ICG aircraft equipped with advanced oil spill mapping technology are conducting aerial assessment of the affected area,” it said. “As of now, no oil spill has been reported.”

What complicates pollution response is strong currents off the coast of Kerala, which, if leakage occurs, may move the spill toward the south, to Alleppey and Kollam districts, Prof. Biju Kumar, dean of the Faculty of Science, University of Kerala, told Arab News.

“These are the best fishing grounds, as far as Kerala is concerned. Any kind of oil spill will have consequences that will affect marine life. The major issue will be the fish fauna,” he said.

“The major threat is polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are the most toxic component in any oil. They may be absorbed by plankton, which is a major food source for the commercially available fish … The PAH will remain in the water for a longer time. It essentially means that we need long-term monitoring if it happens.”


Kerala on alert as toxic cargo ship sinks in Arabian Sea

Updated 25 May 2025
Follow

Kerala on alert as toxic cargo ship sinks in Arabian Sea

  • Vessel went down with 640 containers, including 13 with hazardous cargo and 12 containing calcium carbide
  • All 24 members of the vessel’s crew, including nationals of Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Philippines, were rescued

NEW DELHI: India’s southern state of Kerala was on high alert Sunday after a Liberian-flagged vessel carrying hazardous cargo sank off its coast.

The Indian Ministry of Defense said the 184-meter MSC Elsa 3 container ship was en route to Kochi from Vizhinjam on Saturday, when it issued a distress call.

All 24 members of the vessel’s crew — which included nationals of Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, and the Philippines — were rescued by the Coast Guard and the Navy.

“The vessel went down with 640 containers, including 13 with hazardous cargo and 12 containing calcium carbide,” the ministry said.

It did not specify what other hazardous substances were onboard, but calcium carbide becomes dangerous on contact with water, producing acetylene gas, which is flammable and explosive.

The vessel was also loaded with more than 84 metric tons of diesel and 367 metric tons of furnace oil.

Diesel and furnace oil are both classified as marine pollutants. They are toxic to marine life and can contaminate coastal ecosystems.

The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority issued a public warning on Saturday, when the ship started losing containers in the Arabian Sea. The authority’s secretary told reporters that “there is a chance the cargo, including containers and oil, will wash ashore.”

The Indian Coast Guard has deployed spill detection systems.

“ICG aircraft equipped with advanced oil spill mapping technology are conducting aerial assessment of the affected area,” it said. “As of now, no oil spill has been reported.”

What complicates pollution response is strong currents off the coast of Kerala, which if leakage occurs may move the spill toward the south, to Alleppey and Kollam districts, Prof. Biju Kumar, dean of the Faculty of Science, University of Kerala, told Arab News.

“These are the best fishing grounds, as far as Kerala is concerned. Any kind of oil spill will have consequences, which will affect marine life. The major issue will be the fish fauna,” he said.

“The major threat is polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are the most toxic component in any oil. They may be absorbed by plankton, which is a major food source for the commercially available fish ... The PAH will remain in the water for a longer time. It essentially means that we need long-time monitoring if it happens.”


Spain hosts European, Arab nations to pressure Israel on Gaza

Updated 25 May 2025
Follow

Spain hosts European, Arab nations to pressure Israel on Gaza

  • Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares says the international community should look to sanction Israel to stop the war in Gaza
  • Madrid is hosting 20 countries alongside international organizations on Sunday with the aim of stopping the war

MADRID: The international community should look to sanction Israel to stop the war in Gaza, Spain’s foreign minister said, ahead of a Madrid meeting of European and Arab nations on Sunday to urge a halt to its offensive.
Countries Israel had long counted on as allies have been adding their voices to growing international pressure after it expanded military operations against Gaza’s Hamas rulers, whose 2023 attack on Israel sparked the devastating war.
A two-month aid blockade has worsened shortages of food, water, fuel and medicine in the Palestinian territory, sparking fears of famine.
Aid organizations say the trickle of supplies Israel allowed to enter in recent days falls far short of needs.
Madrid will host 20 countries as well as international organizations on Sunday with the aim of “stopping this war, which no longer has any goal,” Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told France Info radio.
Humanitarian aid must enter Gaza “massively, unimpeded, neutrally, so that it is not Israel who decides who can eat and who cannot,” he said.
A previous such gathering in Madrid last year brought together countries including Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye as well as European nations such as Ireland and Norway that have recognized a Palestinian state.
Sunday’s meeting, which also includes representatives from the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, will promote a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
After the European Union decided this week to review its cooperation deal with Israel, Albares said “we must consider sanctions, we must do everything, consider everything to stop this war.”
Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mainly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Palestinian militants also took 251 hostages, 57 of whom remain in Gaza including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed almost 54,000 people, mostly civilians, according to Hamas-run Gaza’s health ministry.