OCHA urges all ports of Yemen must stay open

Under-Secretary-General and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock, expressed deep concern over the catastrophic  humanitarian situation in Yemen, which is getting worse by the recent escalation and air strikes, in a statement on Saturday.

“With 22 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in Yemen and more than eight million of them a step away from famine, I approved today the largest-ever allocation by the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) – $50 million – to rapidly bolster the response,” he said.

He also stressed on the necessity to relieve ground combat and air strikes, which have highly escalated  in the recent weeks, noting that the armed conflict is a direct cause in the widely killing and wounding of people and in the demolition of infrastructure.

Lowcock emphasized on the importance that all ports should remain open without interruption, as Yemen imports around 90 per cent of basic needs of food and almost all of its needs of fuel and medicine.