Al-Thawra Net
Yemen is being pushed ever closer to famine after 1,000 days of Saudi-led aggression war and a three-month blockade which has brought its people to the brink of starvation.
Since a Saudi-led aggression coalition imposed a blockade on the country’s main ports, Yemen now imports 90 percent of its food but only a little over a third reaches its people. Today more than 8.4 million people are at risk of starvation according to Oxfam International.
The two-year of the Saudi airstrikes campaign raging in the Arab world’s poorest country has left the economy in a state of collapse and rendered basic services non-functional.
Since the start of November 2017, food prices have risen by 28 percent making it increasingly difficult for poor families that were already suffering before the outbreak of war.
Power cuts have become a frequent occurrence due to fuel shortages that has also affected the supply of water in major cities.
Yemen is the largest food emergency in the world according to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWSNET).
Exacerbating the already-fragile situation has been the outbreak of the world’s largest cholera epidemic which leaves millions of children at risk of contracting the disease.
Hospitals are struggling to tend to the many casualties of the war and are running out of medicine and basic supplies due to Saudi-led aggression and blockade.
The UN says a child under the age of five dies every 10 minutes of preventable causes.
“In 67 districts across 13 governorates is there is a convergence of highest food security and nutrition needs and cholera.
“Ongoing conflict has also worsened protection needs. About 11.3 million people need assistance to protect their safety, dignity or basic rights, including 2.9 million people living in acutely affected areas,” it added.
That Saudi-led aggression attacks have hit civilian targets such as houses, hospitals and schools as well as dual-use infrastructure like roads and bridges.
Over the past 1,000 days of aggression, over 5,000 civilians have been killed, three million people were forced to flee their homes and nearly one million people were infected in a cholera outbreak.
