“It is urgent that international laws and conventions are respected and that all parties to the conflict take immediate action and responsibility to secure the human rights of the civilian population in Yemen, who are among the most vulnerable people in the world”, says Egeland.
According to the Norwegian Refugee Council in Yemen’s sources, 40 people were killed and 29 seriously injured in the attack that hit Mazraq IDP camp in the northern district of Haradh in Yemen on Monday.
“The situation in Yemen may escalate into a major humanitarian catastrophe”, warns Jan Egeland, calling for more attention to the humanitarian crisis in the country.
“After this week’s event, the situation has only worsened for those already suffering through a severe, humanitarian crisis. The international community must not abandon the people of Yemen during the most critical moments the country has seen in a long time”, urges Egeland.
The humanitarian crisis in Yemen is among the worst and most urgent in the world today. Close to 16 million people in Yemen were estimated to be in need of humanitarian assistance and 335,000 Yemenis were internally displaced, even before the events of the past weeks. The country has one of the highest malnutrition rates in the world, with 850,000 children suffering from acute malnutrition and 160,000 from severe acute malnutrition. Needs are expected to increase as the security situation deteriorates.
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has worked in Yemen since June 2012, providing humanitarian assistance to refugees, internally displaced persons, returnees and host communities.
“NRC is deeply concerned about the consequences of the increased fighting in Yemen for the civilian population. We have already seen the first refugees from Yemen arriving by boat in Djibouti and in Somalia after the unrest escalated last week”, says Jan Egeland. “While the international focus is on military events, the fighting parties, and the political implications, the consequences for the civilian populations are largely ignored. The ongoing humanitarian crisis is almost invisible. You would almost think there were no ordinary people, no civilians living in this country. The truth is that there were millions of people in urgent need of aid in Yemen long before the latest escalation of the conflict. It has largely been a forgotten crisis“, says Jan Egeland.
“The conflict has been intensifying for months and the humanitarian crisis has been growing constantly. In spite of these developments we have seen some of the major donors cut their humanitarian funding for Yemen, endangering the lives of millions”, says Egeland, and points out:
“NRC has been able to continue its operations up until the aerial bombardments started during the night of 25/26 March. While some of our operations are currently affected, we hope to continue them shortly. For this we need support from the donor community, first and foremost in Yemen, but also in Djibouti and in Somalia where we are now seeing the first refugees from Yemen arriving”, says Jan Egeland.
KEY FIGURES: THE HUMANITARIAN CRISIS IN YEMEN
- People in need of humanitarian aid: 15.9 million
- Food insecure people: 10 million
- People without access to safe water and sanitation: 13 million
- People without access to adequate health care: 8.4 million
- Acutely malnourished children: 840,000
- Yemen has been host to more than 250,000 refugees from other countries, who are now caught up in the war in Yemen.
- Internally displaced people, refugees and migrants are among the most vulnerable people in Yemen, but the number affected by the humanitarian crisis goes far beyond these groups.
- With the impact of the current situation on the economy, many more people are expected to lose their livelihoods.