- Title: UN humanitarian co-ordinator in Yemen says situation dire
- Date: 3rd October 2016
- Summary: HODEIDAH, YEMEN (OCTOBER 3, 2016) (REUTERS) ****WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** UNDER-SECRETARY GENERAL FOR HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS AND EMERGENCY RELIEF COORDINATOR STEPHEN O'BRIEN WALKING WITH YEMENI AND UN OFFICIALS IN HODEIDAH O'BRIEN SPEAKING TO LOCAL WOMAN FROM HODEIDAH AT FOOD DISTRIBUTION CENTRE IN HODEIDAH SANAA, YEMEN (OCTOBER 3, 2016) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) UN UNDER-SECRETARY FOR HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS AND EMERGENCY RELIEF COORDINATOR STEPHEN O'BRIEN SAYING: "I think it's fair to say that the activities that the U.N. has been able to do to support the Yemeni people is that we have managed to avert what otherwise might have descended into the technical description of famine, but it is very very tight indeed." HODEIDAH, YEMEN (OCTOBER 3, 2016) (REUTERS) SIGN READING IN ENGLISH AND ARABIC "EMERGENCY FOOD ASSISTANCE (DISTRIBUTION POINT) O'BRIEN IN A WAREHOUSE AT A FOOD DISTRIBUTION CENTRE IN HODEIDAH SANAA, YEMEN (OCTOBER 3, 2016) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) UN UNDER-SECRETARY FOR HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS AND EMERGENCY RELIEF COORDINATOR STEPHEN O'BRIEN SAYING: "In addition to malnutrition whereas I say we have 7 million people in very very severe and acute malnutrition, I met babies in the pediatric (ward) and in the feeding wards of the hospital. It was absolutely terrifying as any of us parents would find a child. One was said to be seven years, might have been the case, might have been seven months, either way, the child was so thin, so malnourished and the mother too. It was absolutely appalling to see and these things are avoidable. That's why we need to get not only food but medical items in, because the other thing that is almost obliterated is the health service." HODEIDAH, YEMEN (OCTOBER 3, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF O'BRIEN AT THE HODEIDAH HOSPITAL, SITTING BY THE BEDSIDE OF SICK AND MALNOURISHED CHILDREN SANAA, YEMEN (OCTOBER 3, 2016) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) UN UNDER-SECRETARY FOR HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS AND EMERGENCY RELIEF COORDINATOR STEPHEN O'BRIEN SAYING: "Of course we need to do so much more, what we are doing we know to be insufficient. We need greater facilitation by the authorities at every level, whether it's here in Sanaa or in Hodeidah or elsewhere in Yemen. The authorities, whoever they are, need to able to give us great and quick facilitation, not put administrative burdens in our way, not to distrust us." HODEIDAH, YEMEN (OCTOBER 3, 2016) (REUTERS) O'BRIEN MEETING WITH DOCTORS AND OFFICIALS VARIOUS OF HODEIDAH'S PORT WITH EVIDENCE OF DAMAGED FACILITIES, O'BRIEN TOURING THE PORT O'BRIEN SHAKING HANDS WITH PORT OFFICIALS BEFORE LEAVING
- Embargoed: 19th October 2016 00:16
- Keywords: Yemen Sanaa Hodeidah UN co-ordinator
- Location: HODEIDAH AND SANAA, YEMEN
- City: HODEIDAH AND SANAA, YEMEN
- Country: Yemen
- Topics: United Nations
- Reuters ID: LVA00152GDPVR
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The United Nations humanitarian coordinator said on Monday (October 3) that although famine has so far been averted in Yemen, the situation remains dire.
Speaking to Reuters after a tour of the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah, Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief, Stephen O'Brien further warned that the country's medical system was on the verge of collapse.
"We have managed to avert what otherwise might have descended into the technical description of famine, but it is very very tight indeed," said O'Brien after touring a local hospital in Hodeidah and witnessing "terrifying" images of severely malnourished children.
"We have 7 million people in very very severe and acute malnutrition, I met babies in the paediatric and in the feeding wards of the hospital it was absolutely terrifying… so thin, so malnourished. It was absolutely appalling to see," he said.
"That's why we need to get not only food but medical items in, because the other thing that is almost obliterated is the health service," said O'Brien.
Even before the war, Yemen was one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, relying overwhelmingly on imports to satisfy the country's food, fuel and medical needs.
Yemen imports more than 90 percent of its food, including most of its wheat and all its rice. Some 21 million of Yemen's 28 million people need some form of humanitarian aid and more than half the population suffers from malnutrition.
Since March of last year, food shipments into the country are facing stringent checks and delays due to a virtual blockade by the Saudi-led coalition that has backed the exiled government of Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi during an 18-month civil war.
O'Brien called on all parties to lift unnecessary restrictions and obstacles to the movement of desperately needed food and aid to those most in need across the country.
"We need greater facilitation by the authorities at every level, whether it's here in Sanaa or in Hodeidah or elsewhere in Yemen. The authorities, whoever they are, need to able to give us great and quick facilitation, not put administrative burdens in our way, not to distrust us," said O'Brien.
He said the latest UN verification and inspection mechanism ensured that there can be "complete confidence" that ships bringing in vital supplies into the country could be trusted.
He further blamed delays at the ports on war-damaged port infrastructure, including smashed and inoperative cranes that limit the capacity to unload ships loaded with food and fuel.
O'Brien further cautioned that funding shortages will only exacerbate an already difficult situation. He said current funding from international donors remains at 46 percent. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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