After more than seven years of war, Yemen is becoming a chronic emergency, marked by hunger, disease and other miseries that are rising faster than aid agencies can reverse, United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths told the Security Council, as the Special Envoy for the country called for joint efforts by Yemenis and the international community to break the entrenched cycle of violence.
As the world turns its attention to new crises unfolding in Ukraine, Mr. Griffiths, who is also Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, cited grave risks for inertia and fatigue in attenuating the severe conditions in Yemen. “We must not give in to those forces,” he insisted. He drew attention to the 16 March high-level pledging event to alleviate the suffering of the traumatized Yemeni people, with aid agencies seeking nearly $4.3 billion to help 17 million in 2022 alone.
New nationwide assessments confirm that 23.4 million people now need assistance — about three of every four people. Among them are 19 million people who will go hungry in the coming months — an increase of almost 20 per cent from 2021 — while more than 160,000 of them will face famine-like conditions.
Noting that Yemen relies on commercial imports for 90 per cent of its food and nearly all its fuel, he said one third of its wheat comes from the Russian Federation and Ukraine, where the conflict sparked on 24 February may push food prices – which already doubled in 2021 — even higher. Fuel imports have fallen sharply through Hudaydah port, where volumes in February were less than half the average.
Detailing the violence, Special Envoy Hans Grundberg, said that over the last month, artillery shelling in Taiz again inflicted civilian casualties and damage to residential buildings, while hostilities have been reported in Sa’adah and Al Dali’ governorates. Air strikes continue, primarily on front lines in Marib and Hajjah.
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