SANA’A: A UN plane carrying vaccines landed in Al Houthi-occupied Sana’a on Saturday after the Coalition fighting to support legitimacy in Yemen reopened Sana’a airport for relief and humanitarian aid for the Yemeni people. The move was lauded by US President Donald Trump, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Three other aircraft — two carrying UN aid workers and one carrying International Committee of the Red Cross staff — also landed at the airport, which was repaired earlier.
The UN humanitarian affairs office had said on Friday that it had been given clearance by the Saudi-led coalition that has been fighting Al Houthis since 2015 to resume flights into Sana’a.
The UN Children’s Fund said Saturday’s flight was carrying more than 15 tonnes, or 1.9 million doses, of vaccine for diphtheria, tetanus and other preventable diseases.
The World Health Organisation confirmed earlier this week that diphtheria was spreading as children went unvaccinated and doctors in Hodeida reported three deaths.
More than 2,000 people have died of cholera in Yemen this year, adding to the 8,600 who have died in the conflict since 2015.
The United Nations has warned that Yemen faced “the largest famine the world has seen for decades”.
Seven million Yemenis are completely dependent on humanitarian supplies for their survival, according to the UN.
