Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake on the situation in Yemen
2017-11-09
© UNICEF/Alzekri
A child with severe diarrhoea or cholera receives treatment at the Sab'een Hospital in Sana'a, Yemen.
NEW YORK/HONG KONG, 9 November 2017 – “Yesterday, Mark Lowcock, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, called on all parties to the conflict to provide safe, rapid, unhindered humanitarian access to people in need, through all ports and airports, including Hudaydah port and Sana’a airport.
“The recent closure of all ports and airports is making an already catastrophic situation even worse.
“Today, nearly 400,000 children in Yemen are at risk of death from severe acute malnutrition. To potentially add tens of thousands more children to this toll – tens of thousands more personal catastrophes for children and grieving parents – is simply inhuman.
“Children are not responsible for the conflict and carnage created by the adults. But they are the first victims.
“We must ask all the parties: What kind of Yemen do the ultimate victors expect to gain as they destroy it?”