Local Editor
23 aid organizations expressed alarm over the complete closure of Yemen’s borders by the Saudi-led coalition that has been launching a military aggression against Yemenis since March 2015.
The organizations, including Oxfam, Save The Children, and CARE described the humanitarian situation in Yemen as “extremely fragile”, adding that “any disruption in the pipeline of critical supplies such as food, fuel and medicines has the potential to bring millions of people closer to starvation and death.”
The statement added that “due to limited funding, humanitarian agencies are only able to target one third of the population (7 million) and some two thirds of the population rely on the commercial supplies, which are imported, therefore, the continued availability of commodities in the markets is essential to prevent a deterioration of food insecurity. Any food shortage will result in a further increase of food prices beyond the purchasing power of the average Yemeni. The closure has started to impact the daily life of Yemenis with the price of fuel spiking 60 per cent overnight and the price of cooking gas doubling.”
The humanitarian community also called for “the immediate opening of all air and seaports to ensure food, fuel and medicines can enter the country,” asling the “Saudi-led Coalition to facilitate unhindered access of aid workers to people in need, in compliance with international law, by ensuring the resumption of all humanitarian flights.”
The statement concluded by reiterating that “humanitarian aid is not the solution to Yemen’s humanitarian catastrophe. Only a peace process will halt the horrendous suffering of millions of innocent civilians.”
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
