Yemenis struggle to find bare essentials three years on from first Saudi airstrikes, warns Oxfam

Food price shock adds to war’s misery

People in Yemen are struggling to survive on dirty water and meagre portions of bread three years after a Saudi-led coalition carried out its first airstrike on the country in its war with the Houthis, Oxfam said today.

Families in remote areas of Amran governorate in the north west of the country told Oxfam they could only afford half a bag of wheat a month and had to walk three kilometres two or three times a day to fetch untreated water from a well. Several women told Oxfam they were struggling to make ends meet and had no money for clothes or other supplies after their husbands had been killed in the conflict.

Since the war started the cost of food has rocketed. Rice is up 131 per cent, beans 92 per cent, vegetable oil 86 per cent and flour for making bread up 54 per cent. Over the same period the number of people going hungry increased by 68 per cent to reach almost 18 million people.

Over 3 million people have been forced to flee their homes, more than 5,500 civilians have been killed and 2,000 more have died of cholera in a country where half of the health facilities are no longer functioning because of the conflict.

With 22 million people in need of aid across the country, Yemen is already the world's worst humanitarian crisis and the site of the largest cholera outbreak since records began, with over a million suspected cases.

Jim Clarken, Oxfam Ireland's Chief Executive, said: “Oxfam has been working in Yemen since 1983 and we have never seen a humanitarian crisis of this scale. Three years on from the eruption of this devastating conflict, the country is teetering on the brink of famine. Families are facing a daily struggle just to get hold of the bare essentials like food and water.

“We are stepping up our work in Yemen to tackle this humanitarian crisis. Since July 2015 we have reached more than 2.8 million people in nine governorates of Yemen.

“We are providing water and sanitation services, cash assistance and food vouchers, including 430,000 people as part of our cholera response to prevent and contain the disease. We are trucking water and providing cash for people to buy food.

“Malnutrition can lower the body's immune system, and the lack of clean and safe drinking water and sanitation and a weakened health system allow diseases such as cholera to spread more easily. But the closure of sea and air ports has hampered efforts to get food, water, fuel and medicines to all those who need them.”

The appointment last month of Martin Griffiths as the new UN envoy to Yemen, and recent UN Security Council calls for moves towards a ceasefire and to ensure essential goods are given free passage, present an opportunity for the international community to reinvigorate efforts to achieve peace.

Mr Clarken added: “Three years of war is more than enough. Too many bombs have been dropped and shells fired, too many people have gone hungry, too many lives have been lost. All sides need to call time on this war. The appointment of a new UN envoy to Yemen is a chance to push for a ceasefire and put the country on the road to a lasting peace.

“Without an inclusive political settlement, the conflict will only continue to make life unbearable for the vast majority of the population.”

The public can support Oxfam Ireland's humanitarian response in Yemen online, by donating online via www.oxfamireland.org/hunger, by calling 1850 30 40 55 (Republic of Ireland) or 0800 0 30 40 55 (Northern Ireland) or calling into your local Oxfam shop

ENDS

For interviews or more information, contact: Phillip Graham on 00 44 (0) 7841 102535 / phillip.graham@oxfamireland.org

NOTES TO EDITORS

Footage, photos and feature stories are available.

For updates, please follow @OxfamIreland.

Oxfam’s response in Yemen

Since July 2015 Oxfam has reached more than 2.8 million people in nine governorates of Yemen with water and sanitation services, cash assistance and food vouchers, including 430,000 people as part of its cholera response.

Oxfam’s water and sanitation equipment includes water storage tanks, buckets, tap stands, hand washing water dispensers, water testing and purifications kits, oral rehydration sachets, insecticide sprayers, pipes and fittings.

Oxfam is repairing water supplies and carrying out disinfection of water storage and sources with chlorine, providing households with water purification equipment and distributing hygiene materials, constructing latrines and providing solid waste management facilities, training community volunteers to spread hygiene messages for cholera prevention and treatment, conducting public health campaigns, supplying oral rehydration sachets to ensure that people can quickly rehydrate when suffering from signs and symptoms of cholera.

Left: Three of Jameela's children sitting inside the house in the afternoon. Photo: Ameen Al-Ghaberi/Gabreez Right: Mohammed* is a first-grade student. *Name has been changed. Photo: Ameen Al-Ghaberi/Gabreez.