Extracts of the Noon Briefing on Yemen by the UN Secretary-General Spokesperson
Just to say that we, of course, continue to be extremely concerned about the potential impact of the US designation of the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization. And that is the impact on the humanitarian situation in Yemen — particularly on the risk of famine. Yemen remains the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Nearly 80 per cent of the population — more than 24 million people — require some form of humanitarian assistance and protection. The situation on the ground continues to worsen as 50,000 Yemenis are already living in famine-like conditions with 5 million more just one step away. Preventing famine remains the top priority right now. To do so, we need to increase humanitarian funding, support the economy, and push for an end to the violence. By the end of 2020, Yemen’s 2020 Humanitarian Response Plan had only received 50 per cent of the $3.38 billion needed for the aid operations, meaning they basically only received $1.7 billion of the $3.38 billion needed. That’s less than half of what had been received in 2019.