'Countdown to catastrophe' in Yemen as U.N. warns of famine - again

By Michelle Nichols

 

FILE PHOTO: A woman holds her malnourished daughter at a malnutrition treatment ward of al-Sabeen hospital in Sanaa, Yemen October 27, 2020. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah/File Photo

 

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Millions of men, women and children in war-torn Yemen are facing famine - again, top United Nations officials warned on Wednesday as they appealed for more money to prevent it - again.

 

"We are on a countdown right now to a catastrophe," U.N. food chief David Beasley told the U.N. Security Council. "We have been here before ... We did almost the same dog-and-pony show. We sounded the alarm then."

 

The United Nations describes Yemen as the world's largest humanitarian crisis, with 80% of the people in need of help.

 

"If we choose to look away, there's no doubt in my mind Yemen will be plunged into a devastating famine within a few short months," Beasley told the 15-member council.

 

A Saudi Arabia-led military coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015, backing government forces fighting the Iran-allied Houthi group. U.N. officials are trying to revive peace talks to end the war as the country's suffering is also worsened by an economic and currency collapse and the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

In late 2017, U.N. aid chief Mark Lowcock warned that Yemen was then facing "the largest famine the world has seen for many decades with millions of victims".

 

"We prevented famine two years ago," Lowcock told the Security Council on Wednesday. "More money for the aid operation is the quickest and most efficient way to support famine prevention efforts right now."

 

He said the world body had received less than half of what it needed - about $1.5 billion - this year for its humanitarian operations in Yemen. Last year it received $3 billion.

 

"When I think about what famine would mean, I am really at a loss to understand why more is not being done to prevent it," Lowcock said. "It is a terrible, agonizing and humiliating death ... Yemenis are not 'going hungry'. They are being starved."

 

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Nick Macfie)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-11-12

 

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14 hours ago, webfact said:

'Countdown to catastrophe' in Yemen as U.N. warns of famine - again

yemen lacks oil and natural resources, who cares?

22 minutes ago, Pique Dard said:

yemen lacks oil and natural resources, who cares?

And that is how  many would  perceive it. But few would then  ask why is it that  millions of people live in a country that has  nothing of interest  for exploitation? Why is there a war over it? Again nobody  cares except for the fact it is a conflict that consumes a large  amount of expendable military armaments to fuel and continue making large profits for  Western suppliers.

Humanity  has  ceased to evolve beyond  perfecting the art of  self destruction.

 

1 hour ago, Pique Dard said:

yemen lacks oil and natural resources, who cares?

Millions of starving people in Yemen for a start.

 

But don't worry as nobody will be knocking on your door asking you for money.

5 hours ago, Pique Dard said:

yemen lacks oil and natural resources, who cares?

 

It has ports which, if developed, could remove the need for tankers to navigate the Straits of Hormuz and thus remove the influence Iran has on Western energy supplies.