Statement by Heads of UNICEF, WFP and WHO Following Visit to Yemen
Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake, WFP Executive Director David Beasley and WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, following their joint visit to Yemen
ADEN/SANA’A — As the heads of three United Nations agencies — UNICEF, the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) — we have traveled together to Yemen to see for ourselves the scale of this humanitarian crisis and to step up our combined efforts to help the people of Yemen.
This is the world’s worst cholera outbreak in the midst of the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. In the last three months alone, 400,000 cases of suspected cholera and nearly 1900 associated deaths have been recorded. Vital health, water and sanitation facilities have been crippled by more than two years of hostilities, and created the ideal conditions for diseases to spread.
The country is on the brink of famine, with over 60 percent of the population not knowing where their next meal will come from. Nearly 2 million Yemeni children are acutely malnourished. Malnutrition makes them more susceptible to cholera; diseases create more malnutrition. A vicious combination.
At one hospital, we visited children who can barely gather the strength to breathe. We spoke with families overcome with sorrow for their ill loved ones and struggling to feed their families.
And, as we drove through the city, we saw how vital infrastructure, such as health and water facilities, have been damaged or destroyed.
Amid this chaos, some 16,000 community volunteers go house to house, providing families with information on how to protect themselves from diarrhea and cholera. Doctors, nurses and other essential health staff are working around the clock to save lives.
More than 30,000 health workers haven’t been paid their salaries in more than 10 months, but many still report for duty. We have asked the Yemeni authorities to pay these health workers urgently because, without them, we fear that people who would otherwise have survived may die. As for our agencies, we will do our best to support these extremely dedicated health workers with incentives and stipends.
We also saw the vital work being done by local authorities and NGOs, supported by international humanitarian agencies, including our own. We have set up more than 1000 diarrhea treatment centers and oral rehydration corners. The delivery of food supplements, intravenous fluids and other medical supplies, including ambulances, is ongoing, as is the rebuilding of critical infrastructure — the rehabilitation of hospitals, district health centers and the water and sanitation network. We are working with the World Bank in an innovative partnership that responds to needs on the ground and helps maintain the local health institutions.
But there is hope. More than 99 percent of people who are sick with suspected cholera and who can access health services are now surviving. And the total number of children who will be afflicted with severe acute malnutrition this year is estimated at 385,000.
However, the situation remains dire. Thousands are falling sick every day. Sustained efforts are required to stop the spread of disease. Nearly 80 percent of Yemen’s children need immediate humanitarian assistance.
When we met with Yemeni leaders — in Aden and in Sana’a — we called on them to give humanitarian workers access to areas affected by fighting. And we urged them — more than anything — to find a peaceful political solution to the conflict.
The Yemeni crisis requires an unprecedented response. Our three agencies have teamed up with the Yemeni authorities and other partners to coordinate our activities in new ways of working to save lives and to prepare for future emergencies.
We now call on the international community to redouble its support for the people of Yemen. If we fail to do so, the catastrophe we have seen unfolding before our eyes will not only continue to claim lives but will scar future generations and the country for years to come.
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About UNICEF
UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything we do. Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere.
For more information about UNICEF and its work for children, visit www.unicef.org
For more information, please contact:
Bismarck Swangin, UNICEF Yemen, +967 712 223161, bswangin@unicef.org
Toby Fricker, UNICEF MENA Regional Office, +962-79-9-54-48040, tfricker@unicef.org
Juliette Touma, UNICEF MENA Regional Office, +962, 79-867-4628, jtouma@unicef.org
About WFP
WFP is the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience. Each year, WFP assists some 80 million people in around 80 countries.
Follow us on Twitter: @wfp_media and @wfp_mena
Abeer Etefa, WFP/Yemen, Mob. +201066634352
Reem Nada, WFP/Yemen, Mob. +967 739 555 099
About WHO
WHO helps countries prepare for, prevent, respond to and recover from emergencies quickly, whether these are caused by disease outbreaks, disasters or conflict. WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme is comprehensive, addressing all hazards, flexibly, rapidly and responsively, with a principle of ‘no regrets’. It works synergistically with other WHO programmes and partners to address the full cycle of health emergency preparedness, response and recovery.
For more information on WHO’s work in emergencies, visit www.who.int/emergencies
Follow WHO Yemen on Twitter and Facebook
For more information, please contact:
Lauren O’Connor, WHO Yemen, +967 739 888 991, oconnorl@who.int
Christian Lindmeier, WHO Headquarters, +41 79 500 6552, lindmeierch@who.int
