“An absolute shame on humanity.” That’s how the international aid organization CARE is describing the deepening humanitarian crisis in Yemen. The number of cholera cases in that country has now topped 368,000, with 1,828 deaths. The World Health Organization estimates some 5,000 Yemenis are falling sick each day, and Oxfam projects the number of suspected cases of cholera could rise to more than 600,000, making the epidemic, quote, “the largest ever recorded in any country in a single year since records began.” Aid groups are warning the risk of disease spreading will increase with Yemen’s monsoon season, as the ongoing U.S.-backed, Saudi-led bombing campaign has devastated the country’s health, water and sanitation systems.
The cholera epidemic comes amidst a looming famine, with the United Nations warning 19 million of Yemen’s 28 million people are in need of some form of aid. This is the U.N. On Wednesday, the United Nations demanded media access to report on the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, after the Saudi-led coalition blocked three foreign journalists from traveling on a U.N. aid flight to the capital Sana’a.
Shabia Mantoo talking:
It’s catastrophic. Yemen is now entering third year—its third year of conflict, and we just see that humanitarian needs are escalating every single day. And every single day, the situation on the ground gets worse. So we’re continuing to always see and hear reports of civilian casualties. We have an unprecedented cholera crisis in the country. And the country is also on the brink of famine. And we have millions of people who have been displaced from their homes, trying to seek safety. So, the situation is absolutely abysmal here on the ground. And we, as humanitarians, are truly overwhelmed and trying to cope and respond as best we can.
we’ve been saying that Yemen is a forgotten crisis, because, at present, it’s the largest humanitarian crisis in the world, based on the amount of people in need. At present, there are about 20 million Yemenis who require humanitarian assistance in the country. So, it is the largest humanitarian crisis. But, across the world, it receives very little attention in comparison. So we have been calling for more support to urgently address the humanitarian needs in Yemen. And at the same time, we’ve been calling for more attention on the crisis, for more attention on the human suffering and the people that are really bearing the brunt of the conflict, which are civilians. So, at present, if we look at the appeal for Yemen, it’s only—it’s less than 35 percent funded. So we do require urgent support. We’re already in July. A half-year is gone, and we have many more humanitarian needs arising.
as a humanitarian organization, our interest is really in ensuring that there is peace in Yemen. As long as military action continues between the parties, we are going to see humanitarian needs arise. So we’ve been advocating for peace. We do need more support for the humanitarian response. But that alone is not going to cut it. We do need a peaceful political solution. So there needs to be an end to the war. That needs to be negotiated. The peace process needs to be supported. And that’s what we’re really advocating for.
Now, with us at UNHCR, we’re concerned primarily with displacement and also the issues relating to displaced persons. In terms of the health response, that’s coordinated by humanitarian partners and national health authorities, but that’s perhaps something that I wouldn’t be best to speak to.
Kjetil Østnor talking:
the latest number that I saw today was 390,000 cases just since the 27th of April. So, in less than three months, it’s 390,000 suspected cholera cases. And, of course, we know that the rainy season is coming up. The rainy season in Yemen is basically July to September. So, with the rain, we suspect that the caseload will continue to rise for the next couple of months. We’ve seen some indication of maybe the deaths slowing down, and we’re happy for that, but we think the worst might not be over. We don’t know. At least we have to prepare for the worst in every possible way.
So we need a massive effort to respond to these cases. As you said earlier there, it’s—for the last week, it’s about—was about 5,000 new suspected cholera cases every day. So we need a massive aid effort to stop the cholera crisis in Yemen. And we also need a massive aid effort to respond to the wider crisis. Seven million people are on the brink of famine. Fifty million people have no access to clean drinking water or sufficient sanitation and hygiene facilities. And, of course, as the latest speaker said, we need a ceasefire to be able to travel and access the whole country safely. We need a ceasefire immediately in Yemen.
– on Capitol Hill, the Senate voted 53 to 47 to approve the sale of $500 million in precision-guided munitions to Saudi Arabia. A surprising number of senators voted against the deal. The vote came just weeks after Trump traveled to Saudi Arabia, his first foreign trip abroad as president. During the trip, he signed an arms deals totaling $110 billion.
To be honest, we think it’s shameful that both the U.K. government and the U.S. government is selling arms to the Saudi-led coalition, arms that are used in Yemen. So, there’s—on several occasions, we have called for the suspension of arms sales. And so, we call on the international community, the U.S., the U.K. and other arms brokers, to become peace brokers instead of arms brokers. That’s what is needed. We don’t need more weaponry. Bombs will only fuel the conflict. U.S. and the U.K. government needs to bring the parties to the table to find a peaceful solution, not to sell more bombs.
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Shabia Mantoo
spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, or UNHCR, in Yemen.
Kjetil Østnor
Oxfam’s regional manager for the Middle East and Yemen.
— source democracynow.org 2017-07-25