Approximately 16 million people are in need of humanitarian aid. There is a constant danger of running out of food, water, and fuel.
The humanitarian situation in Yemen gets worse every day. There is a shortage of medicine, clean water, and fuel. There are fears food may also run out. Yemen is an impoverished country where approximately 16 million people were in need of help even before the conflict began. The fighting makes the situation of those already in a weak position even worse.
The International Red Cross and the Yemen Red Crescent Society have distributed medical supplies to hospitals and improved the availability of clean water. In addition, the Red Cross and the Red Crescent have offered first aid, transported the wounded to receive treatment, and distributed aid supplies. The Finnish Red Cross is sending 500,000 euros to the aid operation, with the help of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.
“The need for help is immense and constantly growing. What we’ve been able to do so far isn’t enough. We need more aid and support for the operation,” says Linda Karvinen, Finnish Red Cross coordinator for international programmes.
Red Cross demands access to those in need of aid
The aid operation in Yemen is very difficult for aid organisations. The threat of running out of fuel and the poor security situation complicate the distribution of aid supplies. Three local Red Crescent workers have died, and on Thursday 15 April, the Red Cross was denied access to Maareb in central Yemen. There are hospitals suffering from the shortage of treatment supplies in the area.
“The Red Cross asks all parties of the conflict to allow the aid workers safe and free access to those in need of aid. The humanitarian situation is getting worse by the hour,” says the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross aid operation in Yemen, Cedric Schweizer.