Alwaght - Saudi-led monthslong aggression on Yemen has left some 20 million people in urgent need of humanitarian assistance as the conflict, which escalated dramatically in March, continues to take its toll in what was already the poorest country in the region, UN said.
While United Nations agencies are warning that close to 80 per cent of the population urgently need humanitarian aid, the World Health Organization stressed that more than 15 million Yemenis do not have access to basic healthcare, with 53 health facilities closed and malnutrition increasing,.
Last week saw Saudi-led attacks on dozens of health facilities by fighting, shelling, and airstrikes. In addition, 10 health care workers have been killed or injured while carrying out their duties since the escalation of the conflict in March.
And on the education front, UNICEF says that 87 per cent of schools in the southern five governorates are closed.
“Our humanitarian colleagues also say that there are more than 250,000 metric tonnes of grain in stores in Aden and Hudaydah, but that it can’t be transported due to lack of fuel and insecurity, nor be cooked because of a lack of cooking gas,” said Stéphane Dujarric the Spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary-General.
Without the full resumption of commercial imports and a safe environment in which to transport these goods, humanitarian agencies cannot meet the ever-growing needs of people to whom access is increasingly constrained, he warned.