In response to the UN’s announcement that levels of hunger have increased by 20 percent in Yemen since June 2016, Oxfam demands a massive humanitarian response that must be facilitated by both the parties to the country’s brutal war and their international backers.
Sajjad Mohammad Sajid, head of Oxfam’s program in Yemen, said: “Urgent action is needed to get food into the country and move it from port to plate, along with vital fuel and medicines. All parties to this crisis must understand that the real enemy is famine. Efforts to avert a famine need to be backed up by political action to help end the fighting.
“The international backers of this war have put their narrow self-interest above humanity. They need to stop being arms brokers and start being peace brokers. Too many people have died, too many families have suffered, too many futures have been ruined.”
There are now over 17 million people in Yemen who are dangerously hungry. Ensuring the free flow of food and essential supplies to the ports and to where it is needed is vital. Getting food into the country is crucial but recent attacks around the country’s major port of Hodeidah have made it extremely difficult.
With the backing of many governments, the Saudi-led coalition is making it harder for ships to bring supplies into the critical port of Hodeidah. It has also destroyed the port’s cranes, its warehouses, the roads and bridges into the interior of the country. On the other side of the conflict, the Houthi led de-facto authority is delaying the delivery of life-saving relief to places such as Mokha and Taiz where over 200,000 people are under siege
Notes to editors:
Link to IPC Analysis for Yemen (March 2017) http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-ipc-analysis-summary-findings-acute-food-insecurity-current-situation-overview-0
