As Cholera Bites, Yemen’s Health System Mangle, UN Warns
Local Editor
The United Nations' Yemen envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said more than seven million people are facing the risk of famine in the impoverished country, which has been under incessant Saudi attacks for more than two years.
Speaking at an open session of the UN Security Council on Tuesday, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed warned against the prolongation of the conflict in Yemen and said, "At the beginning of the holy [fasting] month of Ramadan, we have to remember that seven million Yemenis are at risk of famine unless this conflict ends."
"The humanitarian crisis and the threat of famine [are] entirely man-made. If the conflict stops, Yemenis and their partners in the international community have the capacity and the will to rebuild the country," he said.
He said only "less than 45 percent" of medical facilities in the country are functioning as a cholera epidemic takes its toll on the war-weary nation.
The disease has led to more than 500 deaths, while there are over 60,000 suspected cases in 19 provinces, said Ahmed, adding, "The rapid spread of the disease has been worsened by the inadequate healthcare system."
"Medicines for diabetes, hypertension, cancer and other chronic diseases are in short supply," the envoy said.
In March 2015, the Saudi regime and its allies, backed by the US, began a military campaign against Yemen to reinstall its former government. The war has killed over 12,000 civilians since then.
He further pointed to the Saudi airstrikes against civilian targets in Yemen and said, "On 29 March, an airstrike in Sa'ada governorate reportedly killed 12 civilians, including several children."
He said the potential outbreak of violence in al-Hudaydah will critically hamper the already-ponderous flow of foodstuff and medicine into the country.
"I have proposed an agreement to avoid military clashes in Hudaydah," Ahmed said. "My proposal, which includes security, economic and humanitarian elements, would allow for the continued flow of commercial and humanitarian supplies."
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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