Yemen

.

Statement By The Humanitarian Community In Yemen On The Complete Closure Of Yemen’s Borders
Yemen, November 8, 2017
The humanitarian community in Yemen is greatly alarmed at the decision by the Saudi-led Coalition (SLC) to closure all of Yemeni airports, seaports and land crossings which is preventing critical humanitarian aid deliveries and commercial supplies from reaching the country and the movement of aid workers in and out of Yemen.

The humanitarian situation in Yemen is extremely fragile and 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.

There are over 20 million people in need of humanitarian assistance; seven million of them, are facing famine-like conditions and rely completely on food aid to survive. In six weeks, the food supplies to feed them will be exhausted. Over 2.2 million children are malnourished, of those, 385,000 children suffer from severe malnutrition and require therapeutic treatment to stay alive.

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 current stock of vaccines in country will only last one month. If it is not replenished, outbreaks of communicable diseases such as polio and measles are to be expected with fatal consequences, particularly for children under five years of age and those already suffering from malnutrition.

The people of Yemen are already living with the catastrophic consequences of an armed conflict – lasting for over two and a half years – that has destroyed much of its vital infrastructure and brought the provision of basic services to the brink of collapse. Any further shocks to imports of food and fuel may reverse recent success in mitigating the threat of famine and the spread of cholera.

The continued closure of Yemen’s borders will only bring additional hardship and deprivation with deadly consequences to an entire population suffering from a conflict that it is not of their own making.

The humanitarian community in Yemen calls for the immediate opening of all air and seaports to ensure food, fuel and medicines can enter the country. We ask 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.

We reiterate 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.

Agency sign on by:
1. ACF
2. ACTED
3. ADRA
4. CARE
5. DRC
6. Handicap International
7. International Rescue Committee
8. MdM
9. NRC
10. Oxfam
11. PU-AMI
12. Relief International
13. Saferworld
14. Save The Children
15. ZOA
16. Mercy Corps
17. Islamic Relief
18. INTERSOS
19. International Training and Development Center
20. Search for Common Ground
21. Islamic Help
22. Human Appeal
23. United Nations

::::::

Geneva Palais Briefing Note: The impact of the closure of all air, land and sea ports of Yemen on children
This is a summary of what was said by Meritxell Relano, UNICEF Representative in Yemen – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today’s press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
GENEVA, 10 November 2017 – Yemen is facing the largest humanitarian crisis and the worst food crisis in the world. Nearly 7 million people do not know where their next meal will come from and the survival of millions of people depends on humanitarian assistance operations. You have all seen the statements from the humanitarian community in Yemen and from the Emergency Relief Coordinator based on his last visit on the ground. Fuel, medicines and food are essential in this context. And in order to get them in, we need access.

ACCESS
The recent closure of the Yemen’s airspace, sea and land ports has worsened the already shrinking space for the lifesaving humanitarian work. It is blocking the delivery of vital humanitarian assistance to children in desperate need in Yemen. And it is making a catastrophic situation for children far worse. The port of Hodeida is where most of the humanitarian supplies enter and it is essential that the port resumes its activity.

Also, because missions on the ground are not possible, blocking the movement of humanitarian workers and supplies, this means that millions of children will be deprived of lifesaving humanitarian assistance.

IMPACT
Let me give you some examples of the impact of the closure of the entry points to the country:
The current stocks of fuel will only last until the end of November. We need fuel to maintain health centers open and water systems functioning (both for distributing water and for treating used water). The price of existing fuel has increased by 60%.

If fuel stocks are not replenished:
:: UNICEF’s ongoing WASH response to respond to the cholera outbreak is likely to be affected. This could impact nearly 6 million people living in cholera high-risk districts.
:: The operating water supply systems and waste water treatment plants will stop functioning, causing unimaginable risks.
:: The functionality and mobility of the Rapid Response Teams, serving nearly half a million every week, will be hindered.
:: Due to shortage of fuel supply, 22 Governorates/District cold rooms/district vaccine stores are at a major risk of being shut down. Vaccines for thousands of children could be damaged.

If vaccines are blocked from reaching Yemen, at least 1 million children under the age of one will be at risk of diseases including polio and measles:

…The current stock of vaccines in the country will last 1 month
…Shortage of medical supplies will only worsen the Diphtheria outbreak recently reported in five districts of Ibb. About 87 suspected cases were reported with nine associated deaths.

With more than 60 per cent of population food insecure, the closure of the Yemen’s airspace, sea and land ports will lead to more deterioration in food security level which will worsen malnutrition rates.

Children are suffering from severe malnutrition and diseases that could be easily prevented. Children need urgent care and any disruption in bringing in therapeutic nutrition supplies will only mean that more children in Yemen will die.

UNICEF calls on all parties to the conflict in Yemen to allow and facilitate safe, sustainable, rapid and unhindered humanitarian access to all children and families in need, through land, air and sea.