war

Yemenis, already on the tipping point after more than two years of war, are now being forced to choose between treating cholera and putting food on the table, said Oxfam in a new report.

Massive aid effort and cease-fire needed as rainy season approaches.

The number of people with cholera in Yemen is now the largest ever recorded in any country in a single year, Oxfam said today. At over 350,000 suspected cholera cases in just three months since the outbreak started, it is now already the largest number of cases in a year, topping the previous annual record of 340,311 in Haiti in 2011. 

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

A growing cholera crisis in Yemen that has already killed more than 120 people with 11,000 suspected cases could deteriorate rapidly unless donor governments immediately send aid they pledged last month to help the struggling country, Oxfam warned today.

More money is urgently needed to ease the humanitarian suffering in Yemen but aid alone is no substitute for reviving efforts to bring about peace, Oxfam said today as ministers will gather in Geneva tomorrow for a high level pledging event.

"Women and girls are today bravely taking a stand and Oxfam stands with them in solidarity," said Winnie Byanyima, Oxfam International Executive Director and women’s rights leader, this International Women’s Day.

The Human Rights Council decision not to set up an independent inquiry to investigate human rights violations by all sides to the conflict in Yemen is unacceptable.

Eighteen months of war has pushed Yemen to the brink of catastrophe and left millions of people running out of means of survival, warned Oxfam in a new report published today.

In response to the nationwide ceasefire in Syria, Oxfam hopes it will provide a welcome respite for Syrian civilians who have faced unremitting violence and deliberate deprivation of aid. Russia and the USA must make sure their agreement translates to a real and lasting halt to violence in Syria, said the agency. 

As the blockade imposed by Israel approaches its 9th anniversary, it continues to devastate the lives and livelihoods of 1.8 million Palestinians living in Gaza. This collective punishment keeps people poor, denies them their rights and fails to make Israel safer, Oxfam said today.