Oyster Bay -- The United Nations on Wednesday declared its highest-level humanitarian emergency in conflict-torn Yemen, where over 80 per cent of the population need assistance. UN officials have said the country is now a step away from famine.
| No extra desserts in the UN cafeteria! Now that's solidarity, by gum! |
Humanitarian chief Stephen O’Brien convened a meeting of UN agencies early Wednesday, and all agreed to declare a “Level 3” humanitarian emergency in Yemen for six months.
| It was a "Level 22" emergency when the UN bar ran out of cognac... |
The United Nations now faces four top-level humanitarian emergencies. It is already trying to respond to “Level 3” emergencies in three other conflict-wracked countries: Iraq, Syria and South Sudan. The UN humanitarian office says the declaration of a top-level emergency mobilizes UN-wide staffing and funding to scale up aid delivery.
Last week, the UN envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, said the country is “one step” from famine. He urged all parties to the conflict to agree to a humanitarian pause during the current Holy month of Ramadan to allow desperately needed aid to be delivered.
According to the World Health Organization’s latest figures, over 21.1 million people in Yemen today need aid, nearly 13 million face “a food security crisis” and 9.4 million have little or no access to water, raising the risk of water-borne diseases including cholera. |