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UN warns of deepening impact of continued conflict on Yemeni civilians

Xinhua, August 20, 2015 Adjust font size:

As Yemeni conflict drags on, UN humanitarian officials warned of deepening impact of the continued conflict on civilians, with four in five Yemenis requiring humanitarian aid, a spokesperson of the secretary-general said here Wednesday.

Johannes van der Klaauw, the humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, said he is extremely concerned by the deepening impact that the continued conflict has on civilians, according to Vannina Maestracci, associate spokesperson for the secretary-general.

"He (van der Klaauw) said in a statement that to date, nearly 4,500 people have been killed and a further 23,000 have been wounded, many of them civilians," said Maestracci at a briefing.

The civilian population is bearing the brunt of the conflict -- a shocking four out of five Yemenis require humanitarian assistance and nearly 1.5 million people are internally displaced, said Stephen O'Brien, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.

Van der Klaauw also expressed concern that the port of Hudaydah has been affected in the ongoing conflict. Serious damage to the port will potentially deprive millions of people of food and prevent importation of fuel which is necessary to run health facilities, flour mills and water and sanitation works, said Maestracci.

Ertharin Cousin, executive director of the World Food Programme (WFP), warned Wednesday that the lack of immediate and unhindered access to people who urgently need food assistance, coupled with a funding shortage, have created the possibility of famine for millions of people -- mostly women and children, according to Maestracci.

The WFP estimates that the number of people who are food insecure in the country is now close to 13 million. Out of that number, 6 million -- that's one in five people in the population -- are severely food insecure and urgently need external assistance, said Maestracci.

In contrast to the gaping humanitarian need, relevant UN agencies face severe funding shortages.

To date, only 18 percent, some 282 million U.S. dollars, of the 1.6 billion dollars requested through the Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan has been received. UN agencies have still not received the funding from Saudi Arabia of 274 million U.S. dollars pledged in April, said O'Brien.

"Even once these funds are received, the response plan will only be funded at 33 percent. Substantial additional resources will be needed to support the Yemeni people through the rest of this year and beyond," said O'Brien. Endit