Geneva, Sept 20. (dpa/GNA) – Fighting in Yemen has further worsened the already critical humanitarian situation in the Red Sea state, with tens of thousands more people now in need of aid to survive, United Nations officials warned in Geneva on Friday.
A staggering 22 million people, nearly half of the entire population, are dependent on humanitarian aid, said Abdusattor Esoev, mission chief in Yemen for the UN migration agency IOM. “Our resources are very, very, very limited and our stocks will be depleted very soon,” said Esoev.
The crisis is growing “by the hour,” added Francesco Galtieri, representative for the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), which handles sexual and reproductive health, in a separate statement released on Thursday.
For years, the government has been fighting the Islamist, Iran-backed Houthi militia, which has controlled the north of the country and the capital Sana’a since 2014.
The militia captured the Red Sea coast along the strategically vital Bab al-Mandab Strait last week, and fighting continues in the hinterland.
At least 112,000 people have been displaced, with more than 100,000 fleeing in the past two weeks alone, Esoev said. Countless women are on the run with their children, stripped of all possessions. Some have given birth in the open air without any medical assistance, said the IOM representative.
Galtieri estimates that a further 2,000 pregnant women are currently among the displaced, around 200 of whom are expected to give birth shortly.
UN agencies say they urgently require more funding to support the population, noting that some aid programmes are currently less than 20% funded.
GNA