WASHINGTON: United Nations has declared its highest-level humanitarian emergency in conflict-torn Yemen.
According to Humanitarian chief Stephen O’Brien, all agencies in UN meeting agreed to declare a “Level 3” humanitarian emergency in Yemen for six months.
U.N. officials have said the Arab world’s most impoverished country is now a step away from famine.
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 U.N. humanitarian office says the declaration of a top-level emergency mobilizes U.N.-wide staffing and funding to scale up aid delivery.
According to the World Health Organization’s latest figures, 3,083 people have died as a result of the current conflict and 14,324 people have been injured, Haq said.
Haq said 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.
He said 11.7 million people have been targeted for assistance under a revised U.N. humanitarian response plan.
