Yemen: More than 30 humanitarian organizations warn of worsening crisis in Yemen

Arabian Sea Newspaper - Special

Arabian Sea - Yemen - Follow-ups: More than 30 humanitarian organizations launched a joint statement today, Monday, coinciding with the meetings of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, warning that the humanitarian crisis in Yemen has reached a critical stage that requires urgent international action to avert a large-scale disaster. The statement indicated that more than 17 million Yemenis face the risk of starvation, including 41,000 in catastrophic levels, while 2.4 million children suffer from acute malnutrition, including hundreds of thousands threatened with severe malnutrition. The organizations warned that declining funding and the collapse of the economy will exacerbate the situation in the coming months. It added that the recent floods caused the death and injury of 157 people, and forced more than 50,000 families to be displaced and lose their livelihoods, while the collapse of water and sanitation networks and the decline in medical services contributed to the spread of diseases, with more than 58,000 suspected cases of cholera and acute diarrhea recorded until last July. The statement pointed out that women and girls bear the brunt of the crisis, with families resorting to negative coping mechanisms, such as child marriage, taking children out of schools and pushing them into the labor market, which threatens the future of entire generations. The organizations explained that the humanitarian response plan for Yemen for 2025 suffers from an unprecedented funding deficit, as funding did not exceed 18% only, which forced it to reduce the scope of aid despite the need of about 19.5 million people for it. The organizations called on the international community to increase funding immediately, ensure the protection of civilians and humanitarian workers, and link the emergency response to long-term development plans, stressing the need to keep Yemen at the top of the international agenda, and use diplomatic influence to support the peace process and protect the Yemeni people from sliding into famine.