Undersecretary for humanitarian affairs says clashes around Yemen’s Hodeidah have worsened the country’s food crisis.
The United Nations humanitarian chief warns that Yemen is on the verge of widespread famine, with about half of the population completely relying on humanitarian aid for survival.
Addressing the Security Council on Tuesday, UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock said, “there is a clear and present danger of an imminent and great big famine engulfing Yemen.”
Lowcock told the UN’s most powerful body that this famine would be “much bigger than anything any professional in this field has seen during their working lives”.
He said that “the situation is now much graver” than when the world governing body last warned of a risk of famine at the beginning of 2017 and again last November, because “of the sheer number of people at risk”.
According to Lowcock, last month’s estimate that 11 million people could soon face “pre-famine conditions” actually stood closer to 14 million – about half of Yemen’s population.
Source: Aljazeera
