Yemen conflict having "devastating impact" on nation, warns UN relief official

The collapse of basic services coupled with shortages of food and fuel in strife-torn Yemen "have had a devastating impact across the whole country," the UN undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, Phillip O' Brien, said on Thursday.

O'Brien, also the UN emergency coordinator who was speaking with reporters at the UN Headquarters in New York by telephone from Berlin, Germany, said 21 million people, or 80 percent of the population, need humanitarian assistance in the Gulf of Aden nation.

"Health facilities report that over 2,800 people have been killed and 13,000 injured since the violence escalated in March," he said. "At least 1,400 civilians have lost their lives, and these numbers are likely to be significant underestimates."

Reiterating calls for a ceasefire, O'Brien said such an action was necessary "to end the suffering of millions of people. We continue to advocate for humanitarian pauses, during which civilians can reach areas of safety and lifesaving assistance can be delivered to people in need."

"The parties to this conflict show an utter disregard for human life, repeatedly attacking civilian infrastructure including hospitals, schools, power stations and water installations," he said. "A million people have been forced from their homes; some have been targeted even as they fled."

"More than 20 million people lack access to safe water and sanitation. Dengue fever and malaria have been reported in the south and in areas bordering Saudi Arabia," the chief relief coordinator said. "At the same time, the health system is facing imminent collapse with the closure of at least 160 health facilities due to insecurity and lack of fuel or other critical supplies."

O'Brien said there have been repeated calls for the resumption of commercial imports at pre-crisis levels to avoid even more serious hunger and shortages and that he also voiced that call in a report read to the UN Security Council Wednesday. "Commercial imports are currently at an estimated 15 percent of pre-crisis levels; clearly this is insufficient in a country that imported 90 percent of its goods before the current crisis."

Members of the 15-nation Security Council expressed "deep concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Yemen, including the risk of famine" in a press statement issued here Thursday. "They welcomed the UN's revised humanitarian appeal which requested 1.6 billion (U.S.) dollars but which was currently only around 10 percent funded. They therefore encouraged the international community to contribute to the appeal."

Council members also reiterated calls for consultations on Yemen in Geneva among all Yemeni parties "and accelerate UN- brokered inclusive political consultations," the statement said. Endite