Yemen in Danger of a Great Famine - UN Security Council Briefing

Briefing by Mr. Mark Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (OCHA), on the humanitarian situation in Yemen. The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Mark Lowcock, today (23 Oct) told the Security Council that “there is now a clear and present danger of an imminent and great big famine engulfing Yemen, much bigger than anything any professional in this field has encountered during their working lives.” Lowcock said “the total number of people facing pre-famine conditions, meaning they are entirely reliant on external aid for survival, could soon reach not 11 million but 14 million,” which represents half the total population of the country. The Under-Secretary-General stressed that “in the absence of a cessation of hostilities, especially around Hudaydah, where fighting for more than four months now has damaged the key facilities and infrastructure on which the aid operation relies, the relief effort will ultimately be simply overwhelmed.” H then added that the time has come “for all parties to heed these warnings.” In his address to the Council, the Ambassador of Yemen, Ahmad Awad Bin Mubarak, said that for the past four years, Yemen “has entered a dark tunnel because of Houthi militias and the humanitarian situation has worsened in Yemen.” On the other hand, he noted that “the political process was moving steadily forward with the support from the countries of the region and the international community to restore security and stability and build a democratic federal state where human rights are respected and the dignity of women and youth are protected and the rights of the child and all vulnerable segments in society are protected.”