Yemen: aid agencies step in

[Sally]

Even thought both sides have committed violations of the cease-fire, the aid will start flowing in to the people.


Yemen: aid agencies step in
Relief arrives as ceasefire between Houthi rebels and Saudi coalition holds

Yemeni young girls smile from the windows of a traditionnal house in the capital Sanaa's old city. The United Nations calls on all parties to the Yemen conflict to respect a humanitarian ceasefire in a bid to boost sorely-needed aid shipments. Photo: AFP/Getty Images

By Louisa Loveluck, Cairo

11:00PM BST 14 May 2015


Relief agencies began distributing life-saving aid across Yemen on Thursday as the country’s tenuous ceasefire held for a second day.

The war between Houthi rebels and a Saudi-led coalition of warplanes,bolstered by local militia on the ground, has killed more than 1,400 people since March 19. The Houthis seized Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, earlier this year, forcing the internationally-backed president into exile, and drawing the ire of his powerful allies in Riyadh.

At least 5,000 have been wounded in the fighting, sparking what the United Nations has called a humanitarian ‘catastrophe’. The violence has devastated Yemen’s already-crumbling infrastructure.

The UN says it will send food rations for 750,000 people during the course of the five-day ceasefire. The first aid shipment to dock in the port city of Hodeidah carried 120,000 litres of fuel. Despite the heavy flow of casualties into Yemen’s hospitals, medical units across the country have closed whole units due to widespread fuel shortages.

Continue reading at:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/yemen/11607040/Yemen-aid-ag

 

[waltky]

Lil' kids sufferin' in the war against terrorism in Yemen...

UNICEF: Conditions Deteriorating for Children in Yemen
October 02, 2015 — UNICEF warns that children in Yemen are facing alarming conditions.

A new report by the U.N. agency says more than 500 children have been killed and more than 700 wounded since Saudi Arabia began its bombing campaign against Houthi rebels six months ago. The group also says verified figures for child deaths and injuries in Yemen are very conservative and do not paint the true picture of the devastation being inflicted on this vulnerable population by the war. Since the Saudi-led airstrikes began on March 26, UNICEF says the number of children at risk of malnutrition has risen to more than 1.7 million. It says nearly 10 million children — 80 percent of the country’s under-18 population — are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance.

A boy walks past soldiers from the Saudi-led coalition patrolling a street in Yemen's southern port city of Aden​

Furthermore, UNICEF spokesman Christof Boulierac says the recruitment and use of children as soldiers by all sides of the conflict has sharply increased. “When you compare 2015 and 2014, it has actually quadrupled," he said. "In 2014, 156 children were confirmed to have been recruited in armed groups, whereas in 2015, at least until now, the number has already reached 606 verified cases, according to monitoring and reporting mechanism. Children in Yemen are being used by armed groups manning checkpoints or carrying arms.”

Catastrophic situation

Boulierac calls the situation for children catastrophic. He says food shortages, limited access to health facilities and sanitation, and the disruption of livelihoods, are worsening conditions throughout the country. Boulierac says UNICEF and partners are providing safe water to three-million people and have helped deliver measles and polio vaccinations to over five million children. But, he notes, this aid falls short of the enormous needs. He says many children already are dying from indirect causes of the conflict. Since the situation is not improving, he warns more children will die from preventable disease than from bullets and bombs.

UNICEF: Conditions Deteriorating for Children in Yemen

 

[waltky]

Yemeni hospital hit by Saudi-led air strike: medical aid group MSF...

Yemeni MSF hospital bombed, Saudi-led coalition denies responsibility
27 Oct.`15 - A hospital in north Yemen run by the medical aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) was destroyed late on Monday by a missile strike, MSF said, but the Saudi-led coalition denied that its planes had hit the hospital.

A Saudi-led Arab coalition intervened in Yemen's civil war in March to try to restore the government after it was toppled by Iran-allied Houthi forces, but a mounting civilian death toll has alarmed human rights groups. "Our hospital in the Heedan district of Saada governorate was hit several times. Fortunately, the first hit damaged the operations theater while it was empty and the staff were busy with people in the emergency room. They just had time to run off as another missile hit the maternity ward," MSF country director Hassan Boucenine told Reuters by telephone from Yemen. "It could be a mistake, but the fact of the matter is it's a war crime. There's no reason to target a hospital. We provided (the coalition) with all of our GPS coordinates about two weeks ago." He said at least two staff members had been hurt by flying debris.

The attack occurred on Monday night in north Yemen's Saada province, a region controlled by Houthi forces. The state news agency Saba, run by the Houthis, said other air strikes had hit a nearby girls' school and damaged several civilian homes. It was not immediately possible to confirm that report. MSF said the hospital had been hit by missiles from coalition jets.

Coalition spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri said in an electronic message that coalition jets had been in action over Saada governorate. But, when asked if they had hit the hospital, he said: "Not at all", and that only an investigation would show the cause of the blasts.

FIGHTING IN TAIZ

 

[waltky]

Another MFS hospital hit in Yemen...

Doctors Without Borders hospital in Yemen hit by missile; four people killed
Jan. 10, 2016 -- Doctors Without Borders said Sunday a missile struck one of its hospitals in northern Yemen, killing at least four people.

At least 10 people were injured in the attack, which the organization, also known as Medecins Sans Frontieres, said was directed at the Shiara Hospital in Saada province's Razeh district. While the origin of the attack could not be confirmed, MSF employees on the ground said aircraft were flying over the facility at the time. The BBC reported three MSF staff members were injured, two critically. MSF, which describes itself as an "international, independent, medical humanitarian organization that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural disasters and exclusion from healthcare," has operated at the facility since November 2015. Saada province is a stronghold of Yemen's Houthi rebels, who took over much of the country last year, forcing President Abdu Rabbo Mansour Hadi to take refuge in Saudi Arabia.

Doctors Without Borders said a hospital was struck by a missile in northern Yemen's Saada province, killing four people​

Hadi has reportedly returned on two occasions to the southern port city of Aden, however, after the Saudis began leading a regional coalition of Sunni states in March 2015 in an air and ground campaign against the Houthis, who are aligned with Shia Islam. "All warring parties, including the Saudi led coalition, are regularly informed of the GPS coordinates of the medical sites where MSF works, and we are in constant dialogue with them to ensure that they understand the severity of the humanitarian consequences of the conflict and the need to respect the provision of medical services," Raquel Ayora, MSF director of operations, was quoted as saying in a statement. "There is no way that anyone with the capacity to carry out an airstrike or launch a rocket would not have known that the Shiara Hospital was a functioning health facility providing critical services and supported by MSF."

MSF noted this is the third such attack on an MSF facility in Yemen in as many months. Last month nine people were injured when an airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition struck a MSF-supported hospital in the al-Houban district of Taiz. In late October, a small MSF hospital was destroyed by an airstrike in the Haydan district of Saada province, which borders Saudi Arabia. Earlier in October, a U.S. airstrike launched on behalf of Afghan forces fighting to retake the city of Kunduz, Afghanistan, from the Taliban struck an MSF hospital in the city, killing more than 40 people, including 14 MSF staff members.

Doctors Without Borders hospital in Yemen hit by missile; four people killed

 

[waltky]

Airstrikes hit another Doctors Without Borders hospital in Yemen...

Airstrikes hit another Doctors Without Borders hospital
Tuesday 16th August, 2016 - Medical teams are treating the wounded at hospital in Hajjah province; Strike follows bombing of two schools in northern Yemen by Saudi-led coalition planes

At least 14 people -- including one aid worker -- were killed when an airstrike hit a hospital in northern Yemen Monday, according to the humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders. Twenty four people were injured in the attack on Abs hospital in Hajjah province, the group also known as Médecins Sans Frontier, or MSF, said on Twitter. The MSF staffer, Abdul Kareem al Hakeemi, died as a result of injuries caused by the blast, the group said.

The Saudi-led coalition carrying out airstrikes in Yemen said Tuesday it is aware of the hospital strike and will look into it. The Joint Incidents Assessment Team "has opened an independent investigation into these reports as a matter of urgency" and "will make its findings from this investigation public," the statement posted on the Saudi news agency SPA said. MSF is still surveying the damage in the area and will launch its own internal investigation into the incident, the group said on Twitter.

At the time of Monday's attack, there were 23 patients in the surgery ward, 23 in the maternity ward, 13 newborns and 12 patients in the pediatric ward, MSF said. The hospital had a 14-bed emergency room, a maternity unit and a surgical unit and had seen an uptick in wounded patients in the last weeks, most hurt in clashes and in the bombing campaign, the group tweeted. More than 4,600 patients have received medical help since MSF began supporting the hospital in July 2015 the group said on its website.

MORE

See also:

Air strike on Doctors Without Borders hospital in Yemen kills at least 11: aid group
Tuesday 16th August, 2016 - A Saudi-led coalition air strike hit a hospital operated by Medecins Sans Frontieres in northern Yemen on Monday, killing at least 11 people and wounding 19, the aid group said, Reuters said.

A Reuters witness at the scene of the attack in the Abs district of Hajja province said medics could not immediately evacuate the wounded because war planes continued to fly over the area and emergency workers feared more bombings. "The location of the hospital was well known, and the hospital's GPS coordinates were repeatedly shared with all parties to the conflict, including the Saudi-led coalition," the aid group also known as Doctors Without Borders, said in a statement.

Airstrike hits MSF hospital in Yemen​

It said one of its staff members was among those killed when an aerial bomb hit the hospital compound, also killing 10 patients. "This is the fourth attack against an MSF facility in less than 12 months," the statement said. "Even with the recent United Nations resolution calling for an end to attacks on medical facilities and high-level declarations of commitment to international humanitarian law, nothing seems to be done to make parties involved in the conflict in Yemen to respect medical staff and patients."

Air strike on Doctors Without Borders hospital in Yemen kills at least 11: aid group - AKIpress News Agency

 

[waltky]

MSF Is Pulling Staff After Hospital Bombings in Yemen...

Doctors Without Borders Is Pulling Staff After Hospital Bombings in Yemen
AUG. 18, 2016 — Doctors Without Borders announced on Thursday that it would evacuate its staff from six hospitals in northern Yemen because it could not get assurances that its hospitals would not be bombed again.

The group blamed the Saudi-led military coalition for the decision, calling its bombing “indiscriminate” and its assurances of protection for health workers “unreliable,” citing the aerial bombardment of Abs Hospital in Hajjah Province on Monday, which killed 19 people and wounded 24. It was the fourth health facility supported by Doctors Without Borders to be hit by Saudi-led coalition airstrikes in the 17-month war against Houthi militias. The aid group, widely known by its French name, Médecins Sans Frontières, or M.S.F., said in a news release Thursday issued from its New York headquarters that it had met twice with high-ranking coalition officials in the past eight months and been assured that attacks on hospitals would end. “Aerial bombings have however continued, despite the fact that M.S.F. has systematically shared the GPS coordinates of hospitals in which the organization works with the parties involved in the conflict,” the news release said. “Coalition officials repeatedly state that they honor international humanitarian law,” the statement continued, “yet this attack shows a failure to control the use of force and to avoid attacks on hospitals full of patients. M.S.F. is neither satisfied with nor reassured by the Saudi-led coalition’s statement that this attack was a mistake.”

The group also called on the United States, Britain and France, who support the Saudi-led coalition, to pressure it to protect civilians, and it complained that the results of previous investigations into hospital bombings by the coalition were never shared. The withdrawal of staff affects six hospitals in Saada and Hajjah Provinces in the north, including Abs Hospital. Among the staff withdrawn were pediatricians, obstetricians, surgeons and emergency room specialists. The hospitals were expected to remain open using Yemeni staff members, and Teresa Sancristóval, Doctors Without Borders’ emergency program coordinator, said the group would continue to support the hospitals with medical supplies and funding. “M.S.F. condemns the way all actors involved in the conflict, including the Saudi-led coalition, the Houthis and allies, are conducting this war and carrying out indiscriminate attacks without any respect for civilians,” the group said.

The Saudi-led coalition, in a statement issued in Riyadh, said that it regretted the aid group’s decision to withdraw staff and that it was in “urgent discussions” with the group to resolve the situation. “We greatly value the work M.S.F. does for the people of Yemen under difficult circumstances,” the coalition said. “The coalition is committed to full respect for international humanitarian law in the conduct of our operations in Yemen,” the statement said, adding that an independent investigation of the Abs bombing would take place. Saudi officials have accused the Houthi militias, who control Sana, the capital, and northern Yemen, of using hospitals, schools and other civilian facilities to hide their military forces. Doctors Without Borders has denied that was the case in any of its bombed health facilities.

The organization will continue to staff five other hospitals and health centers in Yemen, and it also provides other forms of support besides staffing to 18 hospitals and health centers in eight provinces. Ibrahim Aram, the director of Abs Hospital, said that it had continued to operate after the bombing Monday, but that the withdrawal by Doctors Without Borders would greatly limit services to patients. “The hospital’s capabilities are collapsing,” he said. “But we will not stop because of this, because we cannot leave our patients.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/19/world/middleeast/yemen-doctors-without-borders-hospitals.html?_r=0

 

[waltky]

Whole family wiped out by Saudi airstrike...

Family of 11 killed by airstrikes in Yemen
Saturday 29th October, 2016 - Yemeni security officials say a family of 11 people was killed in a Saudi-led coalition airstrike in the war-torn western city of Taiz.

The officials say that the airstrike on Saturday targeted the house of a citizen named Abdullah Abdo in a southern district called al-Salw.

Taiz, the cultural centre of Yemen, has been torn between coalition-backed forces and Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, for the past year and a half. The district that came under attack is close to the front line, and officials said that it is often difficult hard to distinguish rebels from government forces.

The fighting between the two sides intensified in al-Salw in recent days and many families have fled their homes. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of security concerns.

Family of 11 killed by airstrikes in Yemen

 

[waltky]

WHO to launch polio vaccine campaign in Yemen...

Millions of Yemen Children Still Not Immunized Against Polio
February 20, 2017 — The World Health Organization is spearheading a nationwide polio vaccination drive in conflict-ridden Yemen to immunize more than five million children under age five against this crippling disease.

Yemen has been polio free since 2006. Efforts are underway to try to make sure children in this war-torn country remain free of this potentially deadly disease. But it will not be easy. WHO spokeswoman, Fadela Chaib, says thousands of local volunteers are putting their lives on the line as they go door to door to reach and immunize more than five million young children against polio.

She told VOA there are no so-called “days of tranquility.” She says the guns will not fall silent during this nationwide vaccination campaign. “So, what they do is they will look at the geography of the country and try to target places where it is possible to go with the maximum of security," Chaib explained. "And, what we usually do with our partners is talk to the local authorities, religious ones or the parties in conflict to try to secure a maximum of security for our staff and volunteers.”

Chaib agrees the challenges ahead are daunting, but says they can be overcome. She notes two polio vaccination campaigns took place last year and the expectation is that this one also will be successful. She says it is critical for Yemeni children to be vaccinated as many are weakened by malnutrition and lack safe water and sanitation. She adds such children are particularly susceptible to becoming paralyzed by polio.

Yemeni children receive free food donated by Yemeni volunteers during the holy month of Ramadan, in Sanaa, Yemen​

It will be two years at the end of March since the Saudi Arabian coalition began its devastating airstrikes in support of the Yemeni government against the Houthi rebels. The United Nations says children are among the main victims of this crisis. It reports more than two million children are acutely malnourished, a condition that can lead to death or to stunting, which impairs physical and mental development.

Millions of Yemen Children Still Not Immunized Against Polio

 

[waltky]

Cholera outbreak in Yemen kills nearly 500...

UNICEF: Nearly 500 dead in Yemen cholera outbreak
May 30, 2017 - Between October and the end of May, more than 53,000 suspected cases have been identified in Yemen.

A cholera outbreak that has sickened thousands in Yemen over the last seven months has also killed nearly 500 people, the United Nations' child welfare agency said Tuesday. The outbreak was first reported in October and cholera has since been identified in 19 governorates, or territories. In a Facebook post Tuesday, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said about 53,000 cases have been identified. "Yemen is in the grip of a fast-spreading cholera outbreak," UNICEF said, noting that hundreds have died as the result of "acute watery diarrhea." "Yemenis are facing yet another major public health crisis amidst war and devastated social services."

A World Health Organization aid worker takes efforts to combat a cholera outbreak in Yemen, where more than 50,000 suspected cases have been identified​

The agency said 14,000 new cases have been diagnosed in the last two days. Sana'a, the Yemeni capital, is among the affected locations. Nearly a third of the suspected cases involve children under the age of 5, UNICEF said. Yemen's government has declared a state of emergency and has warned that cases could grow into the hundreds of thousands by the end of the year if substantial effort to fight the bacteria isn't taken.

Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by the Vibrio cholerae bacteria, which is found in seawater and other non-fresh water sources. The disease causes severe diarrhea, which can be deadly because it quickly dehydrates patients and leads to substantial electrolyte imbalance. Cholera is not uncommon in Yemen.

Humanitarian agencies continues to deliver aid supplies to the Middle Eastern nation in large-scale efforts to fight the disease and keep it from spreading. Officials said although there are many cases, the growth appears to have slowed in recent weeks. Yemen has also seen extensive fighting in a two-year civil war that officials say has only made health circumstances worse.

UNICEF: Nearly 500 dead in Yemen cholera outbreak

See also:

U.N. conference seeks $2.1B for Yemen humanitarian aid
April 25, 2017 - The majority of Yemen's population of 26 million are in need of food and other aid, the results of a two-year civil war, the United Nations said.

A conference to raise funds for humanitarian relief in Yemen began Tuesday in Geneva with a goal to fill a $2.1 billion United Nations shortfall in aid. Yemen was already Africa's poorest country before a two-year civil war between Iran-backed Houthi rebels and government troops backed by a coalition of Arab states led by Saudi Arabia. The United Nations' World Food Program says that of Yemen's nearly 26 million people, 19 million are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, 7 million require food aid immediately and 2 million children are acutely malnourished. "The situation is nothing short of catastrophic. What everyone tells you is that life has become unbearable," said Robert Mardini, director of Middle East Operations for the International Committee of the Red Cross.

A boy with severe acute malnutrition sits on a bed at al-Sabeen Hospital, Sanaa, Yemen, on October 18. The United Nations began a conference in Geneva on Tuesday to fill a $2.1 billion shortfall in humanitarian aid to Yemen. Seven million people are in need of imnmediate food aid and 2 million children are acutely malnourished.​

Only half of Yemen's hospitals are functioning, and those still in operation face shortages of food, medicine and electricity. A key port, Hudaydah, is essentially closed because of a partial blockade by coalition forces and the effects of coalition airstrikes, the United Nations said. "Without further action from parties to the conflict and the international community, Yemen is at a serious risk of plunging into famine, with even more children's lives hanging in the balance," UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Geert Cappelaere said in a statement Tuesday.

The appeal for $2.1 billion is 15 percent funded, the United Nations said. It is hosting the Geneva conference in conjunction with the Swiss and Swedish governments.

U.N. conference seeks $2.1B for Yemen humanitarian aid

 

[waltky]

Cholera Cases in Yemen Could Top 300,000 by End of August...

UN: Cholera Cases in Yemen Could Top 300,000 by End of August
June 23, 2017 — The U.N. Children's Fund warns cholera cases and deaths in war-torn Yemen continue to mount and could reach 300,000 by the end of August. UNICEF puts the current number of suspected cases at nearly 200,000, including more than 1,200 deaths — with a quarter of those being children.

UNICEF says containing the cholera outbreak in Yemen is extremely difficult. It says the health system is near total collapse, water and sanitation systems are in disrepair and the people who are meant to care for patients, collect the garbage and maintain vital systems have not been paid for six months. The UNICEF representative in Yemen, Meritxell Relano, says despite the obstacles, aid agencies are making progress in reducing cholera cases and deaths in some parts of the country.

Women are treated for a suspected cholera infection at a hospital in Sanaa, Yemen​

Package of intervention

Speaking from Sana'a, she says UNICEF and partners are meeting with some success in preventing the spread of the disease in places where they have provided families and communities with a package of intervention. She tells VOA the package includes household water purification. “A team of people, they go house by house and they check the water sources that the family is using,” Relano said. “They chlorinate the water tanks if they have a water tank … and then they are informed about the ways to avoid cholera by providing good hygiene to the family — hand washing with soap, how to handle the food and how to handle a family that is sick with cholera or with diarrhea.”

Easily treated if caught quickly

Relano says it is important to know how to care for a patient because cholera is sometimes transmitted by the fluids of a sick person. Cholera, which is caused by contaminated food and water, is easily treated if caught quickly; however, it can kill in a matter of hours if left untreated.

The UNICEF representative says cholera cases are going down in 77 of the country's 333 districts where aid agencies have introduced the life-saving package of integrated measures. This past week, U.N. humanitarian chief Stephen O'Brien was quoted as saying Yemen's cholera outbreak was a “man-made” catastrophe caused by Yemen's warring sides and their international backers.

UN: Cholera Cases in Yemen Could Top 300,000 by End of August

 

[waltky]

1 Million Yemenis at Risk of Cholera Outbreak...

Red Cross: 1 Million Yemenis at Risk of Cholera Outbreak
November 17, 2017 — One million people across three Yemeni cities are at risk of a renewed cholera outbreak and other water-borne diseases following the closing of airports and sea ports by a Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's Shiite rebels, an international aid group said on Friday.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement that the cities of Hodeida, Saada and Taiz were not able to provide clean water in recent days due to a lack of fuel. "Close to one million people are now deprived of clean water and sanitation in crowded urban environments in a country slowly emerging from the worst cholera outbreak in modern times," said Alexander Faite, head of the Red Cross delegation in the war-ravaged nation. The Red Cross said other major urban cities, including the capital Sanaa, will find themselves in the same situation in less than two weeks unless imports of essential goods resume immediately.

The U.S.-backed coalition imposed a land, sea and air blockade on November 6th after a missile attack by rebels targeted the Saudi capital Riyadh. Saudi Arabia said Monday the coalition would lift the blockade after widespread international criticism. On Thursday, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres wrote to Saudi Arabia's U.N. ambassador saying the Gulf kingdom's failure to reopen key Yemen airports and sea ports is reversing humanitarian efforts to tackle the crisis in the impoverished country. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Guterres welcomed the reopening of the port in the city of Aden, however he said this "will not meet the needs of 28 million Yemenis."

People inspect the rubble of houses destroyed by Saudi-led airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen​

Suspected airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition killed at least 21 people on Friday in the country's west and northwest, said Yemeni security officials and witnesses. One airstrike hit a bus in el-Zaher district in the western province of Hodeida, killing six civilians, they said. At least 15 people were killed in another airstrike on a market in Yemen's northwestern Hajja province, controlled by the Shiite rebels, the officials and witnesses added. The officials and witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to brief reporters or for fear of reprisals. There was no immediate comment from the coalition.

Over the past two years, more than 10,000 people have been killed and 3 million displaced in the coalition's air campaign. With the country in a stalemate war, cholera began to rear its ugly head in October 2016, but the epidemic escalated rapidly in April. The fighting has damaged infrastructure and caused shortages of medicine and pushed the Arab world's poorest country to the brink of famine.

Red Cross: 1 Million Yemenis at Risk of Cholera Outbreak

See also:

Save the Children Says 130 Children Die Every Day in Yemen
November 16, 2017 — An international aid group says an estimated 130 children or more die every day in war-torn Yemen from extreme hunger and disease.

Save the Children said late on Wednesday a continuing blockade by the Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's Shiite rebels is likely to further increase the death rate. It says over 50,000 children are believed to have died in 2017. Saudi Arabia blocked Yemen's ports after a rebel missile attack near Riyadh earlier in November. It said Monday the coalition would lift the blockade after widespread international criticism. On Thursday, the leaders of the World Health Organization, the U.N. children's agency and the World Food Program issued a joint appeal for the easing of the blockade. "While the Saudi-led military coalition has partially lifted the recent blockade of Yemen, closure of much of the country's air, sea and land ports is making an already catastrophic situation far worse," they said. "The space and access we need to deliver humanitarian assistance is being choked off, threatening the lives of millions of vulnerable children and families."

A girl is being treated at a malnutrition treatment center in Sanaa, Yemen​

The Saudi-led coalition went to war against the rebels, known as Houthis, in March 2015 on behalf of Yemen's internationally recognized government. But the coalition has made little progress, and the rebels still control much of northern Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa. The war has killed more than 10,000 people and displaced 3 million. Yemen was the Arab world's poorest country even before the conflict began. The U.N. officials said more than 20 million people, including 11 million children, are in need of urgent assistance, with 7 million totally dependent on food assistance. The U.N. has called it the "worst humanitarian crisis in the world." "Even with a partial lifting of the blockade, the World Food Program estimates that an additional 3.2 million people will be pushed into hunger. If left untreated, 150,000 malnourished children could die within the coming months," the officials said.

Later Thursday, the U.N. spokesman said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has written to Saudi Arabia's U.N. ambassador, saying the kingdom's failure to reopen key airports and sea ports in Yemen is already reversing humanitarian efforts to tackle the crisis in the impoverished country. Stephane Dujarric said Guterres welcomes the reopening of the port in the city of Aden but that this "will not meet the needs of 28 million Yemenis." Dujarric said the United Nations is urging the Saudi-led coalition to resume U.N. humanitarian flights to Aden and Sanaa, and to reopen the ports of Hodeida and Salif for food and medical deliveries. Like the capital, Sanaa, Hodeida and Salif are in rebel-held territory.

Save the Children Says 130 Children Die Every Day in Yemen'

 

[waltky]

Fire damages warehouses storing food aid in Yemen...

Fire damages warehouses storing food aid in Yemen
March 31, 2018 -- A fire broke out Saturday in four World Food Program warehouses in Yemen, destroying food and other humanitarian aid.

"The fire destroyed huge amounts of fuel and humanitarian aid and foodstuff," a WFP employee told PressTV, adding that an investigation would take place to determine the cause of the fire. The warehouses contained 50 tons of food, along with cooking fuel and mattresses for people displaced in the war, which has killed about 10,000 people in three years.

The conflict has raged since March 2015 when a Saudi-led coalition launched a military operation to restore Yemen's internationally recognized government and defeat the Iran-backed Houthi rebels. The United States, Britain and France support the coalition of eight Arab countries.

A fire broke out at World Food Program warehouses in the Hodeidah port of Yemen on Saturday.​

Yemen was one of the poorest countries in the Arab world even before the conflict broke out, according to the WFP. With millions of people starving and a cholera outbreak amidst the conflict, the United Nations has called Yemen the "world's largest humanitarian crisis."

In November, the Saudi-led coalition announced it would allow rebel-held ports in Hodeidah and Sanaa airport to accept humanitarian aid, following international outcry. However, Paolo Cernuschi, country director for the International Rescue Committee in Yemen, said that the move to lift the blockade for humanitarian aid did not go far enough. "Humanitarian aid alone cannot meet the needs of Yemenis who are unjustly bearing the brunt of this war," Cernuschi said.

Fire damages warehouses storing food aid in Yemen