The UN confirmed the continuous deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Yemen and the high risk of famine for millions of Yemenis, as foodstuffs prices rose by 140% of the average prices before the war on Yemen.
The UN indicated also that about 20 million people are food insecure, including nearly 10 million people facing severe acute food insecurity. Moreover, about two million children need treatment from acute malnutrition, of which 360,000 are at risk of death, if they do not receive treatment.
The UN asserts also that fifteen out of the forty-five major UN humanitarian programs in Yemen have been reduced or shut down due to severe damages. Besides, 30 humanitarian programs are at risk of the same fate in the coming weeks, if donors fail to fulfill their pledges to support this year’s humanitarian response plan.
The Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, Ms. Lise Grande, notes that the UN agencies were forced during the period between April and August to reduce the food distribution and cut off health services in more than 300 health facilities, and halt specialized services for hundreds of thousands of traumatized and highly vulnerable women and girls.
She also emphasized that about 9 million people have been impacted by reductions in food assistance since April. A further 1.37 million will be affected from December, unless additional funding for humanitarian aid is secured.
A reduction in nutrition services in July affected more than 334,000 pregnant or breastfeeding women. If adequate and additional funding is not received, lack of nutrition services for up to 530,000 children under age 2 may occur from December.
As of September, WHO has ended the Minimum Service Package (MSP) in 121 facilities, which has affected 1 million people. This is in addition to 1.3 million people deprived of access to life-saving health care services. The organization asserts also that if resources are not provided by the end of the year, a total of 9 million people will lose access to basic health care services.
WHO had stopped incentives payments to more than 1,800 medical staff delivering MSP in 135 health facilities.
In terms of outbreak control and response, WHO indicates that if funding is not received by October, preparedness, surveillance and pre-positioning of supplies for outbreak response including diphtheria and dengue will stop across 23 Governorates. Up to 60 % of the 174 existing cholera treatment facilities and all of the 300 existing preparedness and medical centers will close. All 333 district rapid response teams will cease to perform core functions, including case investigation and outbreak monitoring. As many as 18 million people will be impacted, including 6 million children urgently in need of vaccination against deadly diseases like measles and polio.
The Ministry of Transport in the National Salvation Government in Sana’a called on the UN, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the international community to pressure the countries of War Coalition against Yemen led by the US, KSA and the UAE, to lift the restrictions they have imposed on flights to and from Sana’a International Airport.
Since 9 August 2016, the countries of War Coalition against Yemen imposed a ban on air traffic at Sana’a International Airport, and stopped all civilian flights except for those of the United Nations and its humanitarian agencies. This has led to the following:
- More than 42 thousand patients have died due to their inability to travel abroad for life-saving treatments.
- Preventing more than 350 thousand patients, with various cancerous and other diseases, from traveling for life-saving treatment, in addition to those wounded by the aggression forces’ strikes, including children, women and men.
- The disappearance of a large number of important life-saving medicines, whether from the stores of Ministry of Public Health and Population, or the commercial market.
In October, fuel costs in the informal market in the northern governorates continued to rise to more than double the official rate in many regions due to the severe shortage of oil derivatives resulting from the blockade imposed by the countries of War Coalition against Yemen led by the US, KSA and the UAE. They have been preventing ships loaded with oil derivatives and foodstuffs from unloading at Hodeidah port, which led to an increase in the prices of basic commodities.
According to the Food Security and Agriculture Cluster (FSAC), the fuel crisis continues to affect the monthly food basket. This is mainly due to the booming parallel fuel market, which has further affected the prices of perishable food items that are transported daily.
The prices of domestically produced goods and agricultural products increased dramatically due to the increase in irrigation costs by 40% to 80%, in addition to the higher costs of transporting the products to the market. Besides, prices of fresh fruits and vegetables have increased significantly by almost 125% for some locally produced products, while the prices of grains increased by almost 25 % in the Capital Secretariat, Sana’a.
