Roundup: UN relief chief voices deep concern over dire humanitarian situation in Yemen

The UN under-secretary- general for humanitarian affairs Stephen O'Brien on Wednesday said that he is "even more deeply concerned by the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Yemen."

"Millions of women, children and men are facing terrifying violence, extreme hunger and little medical assistance as the fighting, shelling and bombing by all parties show no sign of abating," O'Brien, who is also the UN emergency relief coordinator, said in a statement issued by his office here.

"It is extremely disappointing that the humanitarian pause did not take hold over the weekend," he said. "I call again on all parties to the conflict to agree an immediate and unconditional humanitarian pause across the country."

O'Brien also urged the parties to abide by their obligations under international law to protect civilians and facilitate rapid, safe and predictable access for humanitarian organizations to reach all people who need assistance, wherever they are in Yemen.

While saying "a political solution to this conflict is what the people of Yemen need and I hope that the international community will do all it can for the Yemeni families who are counting on this," O'brien highlighted the need of more funds to rapidly scale up critical humanitarian supplies and services.

"The hostilities in Aden have escalated dramatically recently," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters here Wednesday. "The humanitarian situation in that city is of great concern, with the water supply in the Khormaksar neighborhood badly damaged and hospitals across the city receiving casualties."

"Many houses have also been damaged and residents need emergency shelter," Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here.

The World Food Programme (WFP) has been able to enter the city with food for more than 100,000 displaced people, but is struggling to reach people in need due to insecurity.

A statement issued Wednesday by the humanitarian community in Yemen, including the UN, said that Yemenis continue to suffer immensely as violence escalates unabated.

"This week has seen some of the deadliest days recorded since the conflict escalated in March," Dujarric said.

Although more than 4.4 million people have received humanitarian aid since March, 21 million people require humanitarian assistance.

"To scale up, the humanitarian community urgently requires funding," said the spokesman.

According to the spokesman, Yemen's humanitarian appeal has received only 15 percent of the requested 1.6 billion U.S. dollars, which are the funds needed only until the end of 2015.

Also, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that Yemeni health professionals were trained by the world body's experts on epidemiological field investigations and early warning system surveillance.

To date, WHO has distributed a total of more than 175 metric tonnes of medicines and medical supplies and more than 500,000 liters of fuel to maintain the functionality of main hospitals, vaccine stores, ambulances, national laboratories, kidney and oncology centers, and health centers in 13 governorates, reaching nearly five million people, including 700,000 internally displaced persons and 140,000 children under the age of five.

Also on Wednesday, the UN Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) recalled that this country is impacted by one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world, four out of five Yemenis being in need of some kind of assistance, which amounts to 21 out of 25 million people.

Yemen has currently been hosting 250,000 refugees, mostly Somalis, who are among the most vulnerable to the current war situation, UNHCR officials said.

Due to the ongoing conflict and reduced access in general, however, UNHCR and its partners were unable to take arrivals to urban centers to receive assistance.

UNHCR said it had been introducing measures, such as sponsoring mass information campaigns at points of departure, to discourage crossings. Endite