famine

1,000 days of war and a crippling blockade is starving its people

Yemen is being pushed ever closer to famine after 1,000 days of a brutal war, exacerbated by a crippling blockade of its key northern ports which is starving its people of food, fuel and medicine Oxfam warned today.

In response to the Saudi Arabia-led coalition's announcement to reopen Hodeidah port and Sanaa airport to humanitarian assistance, Oxfam says this is an empty gesture while millions of Yemenis sees their lives threatened by the two-week blockade on the country. 

12 days since land, air and seaports in Yemen were closed, Oxfam and 13 other aid agencies are appalled by the complacency and indifference of the international community regarding the historic humanitarian disaster now unfolding.

Seven million people are on the brink of famine, yet the deepening crisis in Yemen is completely avoidable if decision makers re-open ports and stop supplying weapons.

Oxfam and 17 other humanitarian agencies expressed serious concern today over the Saudi Arabia-led Coalition’s decision to temporarily close all entry points to Yemen, effectively sealing the country off. The agencies demand that humanitarian operations are allowed to resume immediately and request clarity on the planned duration of the current closure and contingencies to allow humanitarian supplies to be delivered.  

The agency is calling for a massive aid effort and an immediate ceasefire to allow health and aid workers tackle the cholera outbreak.

New IPC figures show that famine has been pushed back in South Sudan, but the food crisis continues to spread across the country and 6 million people are facing severe hunger and need immediate help.

Thousands of displaced persons returning from Cameroon to Nigeria are facing appalling conditions on arrival in Pulka, says Oxfam.

According to data from the UN’s Financial Tracking System (the only official system for tracking donor funding) and information Oxfam received from G7 members: no G7 country has provided their fair share of funding for all four nations facing famine. 

As famine takes hold in South Sudan and threatens to spread to northeastern Nigeria, Somalia, and Yemen, world leaders must immediately step up to fully fund the United Nations’ appeal for $6.3 billion.