Save the Children is deeply worried for the welfare of 4.2 million children in Yemen on the brink of starvation following reports that the Yemeni Army, backed by the Saudi- and Emirati-led Coalition, has launched airstrikes outside the port city of Hodeidah, effectively shutting down the main artery linking the port city to the rest of the country. The aid agency is calling on parties to the conflict to ensure the road linking Hodeidah to the rest of the country remains open and safe to use.
Hodeidah is home to Yemen’s largest port and the main gateway for food, fuel and humanitarian aid to the rest of the country. An estimated 80 per cent of Yemen’s commercial supplies go through Hodeidah. The Yemeni Government and the Saudi- and Emirati-led Coalition have been trying to retake the vital port city from the Houthis for the past few months displacing 470,000 people since June, according to the UN. But it is still home to hundreds of thousands of civilians, half of them children.
Bill Chambers, President and CEO, Save the Children, said:
“I cannot emphasise enough how vital it is that the main road linking Hodeidah to Sanaa remains open and accessible for the movement of people, food, fuel and aid to the rest of the country. It’s quite literally a matter of life and death.
“Yemeni children are starving to death. This year alone we expect some 400,000 children under five to suffer from severe acute malnutrition, the most life-threatening form of extreme hunger. Unless supply routes remain open this figure could increase dramatically, putting the lives of thousands of children at risk from entirely preventable causes.
“Canada has previously stood up to push for humanitarian access in conflicts where civilians have been denied life-saving medical and food aid. We must not make Yemen the exception to this. Children in Yemen are already on the brink of starvation. The latest airstrikes risk cutting off a vital access route for aid, and we need Canada to step up the pressure on all parties to the conflict in Yemen to ensure humanitarian access is prioritized. The lives of children depend on this access.
“We urge all parties to end hostilities immediately, commit to a ceasefire and give peace a chance. With the UN Special Envoy, Martin Griffiths, due in Yemen this weekend, now is not the time to escalate the conflict. The people of Yemen have suffered enough misery.”
Over the past two months we have seen a marked increase in the number of airstrikes targeting non-military sites in Yemen, including recent attacks on a school bus in Saada and a hospital in Hodeidah. The Yemen Data Project says that in August the number of air raids targeting non-military sites (39%) was more than double that of military sites (18%).
ENDS
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