famine

Oxfam today called for urgent action to prevent millions of people being hit by famine in South Sudan.

In the past three and a half weeks only 18 per cent of the Yemen's monthly fuel needs and just over half its monthly food needs have been imported through these ports.

Oxfam and sixteen other aid agencies working in Yemen are urging for the complete and unconditional opening of Hudaydah port to allow for the uninterrupted flow of food and fuel.

This briefing calls for action by all actors in the conflict and by the international community to protect the civilian population from the effects of the war and to alleviate the food crisis. It calls for renewed momentum towards a peace deal which is inclusive of women, civil society, youth and minorities, and which begins with an immediate, nationwide ceasefire.

1,000 days of war and a crippling blockade is starving its people

Yemen is being pushed ever closer to famine after 1,000 days of a brutal war, exacerbated by a crippling blockade of its key northern ports which is starving its people of food, fuel and medicine Oxfam warned today.

In response to the Saudi Arabia-led coalition's announcement to reopen Hodeidah port and Sanaa airport to humanitarian assistance, Oxfam says this is an empty gesture while millions of Yemenis sees their lives threatened by the two-week blockade on the country. 

12 days since land, air and seaports in Yemen were closed, Oxfam and 13 other aid agencies are appalled by the complacency and indifference of the international community regarding the historic humanitarian disaster now unfolding.

Seven million people are on the brink of famine, yet the deepening crisis in Yemen is completely avoidable if decision makers re-open ports and stop supplying weapons.

Oxfam and 17 other humanitarian agencies expressed serious concern today over the Saudi Arabia-led Coalition’s decision to temporarily close all entry points to Yemen, effectively sealing the country off. The agencies demand that humanitarian operations are allowed to resume immediately and request clarity on the planned duration of the current closure and contingencies to allow humanitarian supplies to be delivered.  

The agency is calling for a massive aid effort and an immediate ceasefire to allow health and aid workers tackle the cholera outbreak.