Yemen faces a grave humanitarian crisis

The humanitarian crisis that has unfolded in Yemen as a result of conflict between government forces and Al Houthi rebels in the north of the country needs urgent attention.

In this complex and deeply tribal country, where there are said to be more than twice as many guns as people, the potential for further instability is great, yet the humanitarian consequences of this crisis have received surprisingly little attention from the international community, not just since the latest bout of fighting started in August, but for some years now.

In terms of numbers, it may read as a relatively small-scale emergency. The UN estimates that a total of 175,000 people have so far been displaced by consecutive rounds of fighting since 2004.

However, the fighting is having a major impact on civilians. Displacement is increasing and the situation of many affected by the conflict is continuing to deteriorate in an alarming way.

The majority of those displaced by the conflict are women and children. They have often had to walk for days through mountainous roads in order to reach safety. Even then, conditions are still hard; these people from the mountainous areas are not used to the hot climate and most have moved to areas where there is little basic infrastructure, including access to clean water.

Those still trapped in the conflict areas, particularly in Sa'ada Governorate, remain largely hidden from the international community and the aid workers who are trying to reach them. What we know of their situation points to a harrowing picture of food shortages and desperation.

Lack of health care

In addition to the ever-present threat of violence, civilians and displaced people in these areas face rising food and fuel prices and have little chance of receiving even basic health care as the health system disintegrates.

The people in this area were already living in extreme poverty before this year's fighting. In Yemen, as a whole, recent financial and food crises and climate change have all exacted a heavy toll. Yemen imports some 80 per cent of its food requirements and is 90 per cent below the water poverty threshold. Last year's global rise in food prices sent malnutrition rates rocketing to emergency levels, with just under half of all children under five chronically malnourished.

With remittances from expatriate Yemeni workers declining and oil reserves dwindling, many people simply have nothing left with which to weather new shocks.

The current instability is exacerbating these trends and threatening to undo any development gains that have been made in recent years.

Given the high risks involved, there is no time to lose. There are two areas where urgent action is needed.

First, we need unhindered access to the people who urgently need help. While aid agencies have managed to extend their reach through local partnerships to about 50% of the displaced population, insecurity, including attacks on aid convoys, continues to inhibit the passage and distribution of relief items in several areas.

All sides have an obligation, in line with international humanitarian law, to prevent these attacks. Likewise, the right of civilians to leave insecure areas must be respected. In the absence of a proper ceasefire, we at least need a humanitarian truce or the establishment of humanitarian corridors to enable aid to flow and people to get in and out. The central government needs to do more to resolve local issues in some of the governorates surrounding the Sa'ada conflict centre.

Need for more funding

Second, while the international community must maintain its development focus in Yemen and work to find long-term solutions to the extreme poverty that underpins this crisis, the humanitarian community must have more funding now as it responds to the rising needs in Yemen.

On December 1, an appeal was launched for $177 million (Dh651 million) to cover life-saving humanitarian activities throughout Yemen in 2010. I hope Yemen's neighbours in particular will respond.

It is going to take the combined efforts of all involved to assist the civilians who have been caught up in the fighting, prevent further deterioration of the situation and avoid spreading instability. Out of sight must not equal to out of mind for these vulnerable people. The time to act is now.

John Holmes is the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator