UN-led conference to mobilize global action to avert ‘humanitarian catastrophe’ in Yemen

The United Nations together with the governments of Sweden and Switzerland have convened a one-day conference in Genevato draw global attention to the deepening humanitarian crisis in war-torn Yemen where millions are “close to a breaking point.”

The United Nations together with the governments of Sweden and Switzerland have convened a one-day conference in Genevato draw global attention to the deepening humanitarian crisis in war-torn Yemen where millions are “close to a breaking point.”

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), nearly 19 million people in Yemen are in need of urgent humanitarian or protection assistance, including some 10.3 million who need immediate assistance to save or sustain their lives.

Senior UN officials, inducing Secretary-General AntónioGuterres and the Organization’s Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O’Brien, together with top officials from Swedish and Swiss Governments, spoke on the opening of the event yesterday.

“Yemen is the largest humanitarian crisis in the world.The time is now to come together to prevent an impending humanitarian catastrophe in the country,” said the UN relief wing on its website, noting that the conflict in the country and its economic consequences is also driving the largest food security emergency in the world.