The United Nations Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock yesterday warned that 14 million people in Yemen could be “on the verge of starvation” in the coming months.
UN humanitarian chief: Famine threatens 14m in Yemen
26 Oct 2018 - 13:15
The United Nations Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock yesterday warned that 14 million people in Yemen could be “on the verge of starvation” in the coming months.
“My assessment – my advice to you – is that there is now a clear and present danger of an imminent and great big famine engulfing Yemen: much bigger than anything any professional in this field has seen during their working lives,” Lowcock warned in an UN address in New York.
“ We warned of famine in Yemen at the beginning of last year … What I am telling you today is that the situation is now much graver.”
The total number of people facing pre-famine conditions, meaning they are entirely reliant on external aid for survival, could soon reach not 11 million but 14 million. That is half the total population of the country.
“The immune systems of millions of people on survival support for years on end are now are literally collapsing, making them – especially children and the elderly – more likely to succumb to malnutrition, cholera and other diseases,” he added.
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