Yemen crisis enters 4th year, no end in sight

Muscat: Yemen’s ongoing war and humanitarian crisis has entered its fourth year with no end in sight to a conflict that has killed thousands, displaced millions, and left the vast majority of its population in need of assistance.
Lise Grande, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, recently said, “Four years of continuous conflict has turned Yemen into the worst humanitarian crisis of our time.”
“The level of suffering is shocking. 80 per cent of the entire population- 24.1 million people-require some form of humanitarian assistance and protection. 10 million people are a step away from famine and starvation and seven million people are malnourished,” she added.
“This year is going to be tough,” said Grande. “All of us hope that 2019 is the year of peace for Yemen. If it is not, and the conflict continues, millions of innocent people will suffer, and many will die.”
According to the UNHCR, since 2015, nearly 15 per cent of the country’s entire population have been forced to flee their homes. Violence continues with clashes regularly killing scores in the country.
“Exposed to daily violence, many live under constant fear and suffer in deteriorating conditions, turning in desperation to harmful coping mechanisms in order to survive,” said Volker Türk, UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Refugees.
The UNHCR has stated that more than 20 million people in Yemen are food insecure, including nearly 10 million who are suffering from extreme levels of hunger. Around 20 million are food insecure, 17.8 million lack access to safe water and sanitation, with 19.7 million lacking access to adequate healthcare.
“Every day, parents across Yemen are forced to make the impossible choice between saving their sick children and feeding their healthy ones,” Gilles Carbonnier, Vice President of the International Committee of the Red Cross added.
“If a political solution isn’t found soon, the consequences of the conflict in Yemen will continue to reverberate far beyond the initial tragedy of violence. Women, children, men – are dying every day. This has to stop.”