Yemen on slow road to starvation

In response to the UN's Food and Agricuture Organisation's statement that more than 14 million people in Yemen are food insecure and in need of urgent livelihood support, Oxfam says ongoing fighting is leading to more people going hungry.

Josephine Hutton, Oxfam's regional program manager, said: "Yemen has been on a slow downward road to starvation for many months and the growing number of people going hungry shows its descent is gathering pace. The ongoing fighting, indiscriminate attacks on civilians by both sides, the sieges and the restrictions on commercial food imports and other goods means more than half the country's population is now critically hungry and in urgent need of support. 

"People desperately need food and water, they need medicine and health services, they need aid that can reach them; but ultimately they need the conflict to end so that they can put their lives together before it is too late. All those fuelling Yemen's tragedy need to stop being arms brokers and start becoming peace brokers. It's time the UK and the international community redoubled efforts and used all tools at their disposal to help bring this crisis to a peaceful resolution."