The world has all but ignored the proxy war that is taking place in Yemen and causing a humanitarian crisis of immense proportions in its wake. The violence continues to escalate and the airstrikes have prevented ordinary Yemenis from being able to access basic supplies such as food, water and medicine. Aid workers have been trapped indoors and families are saying that their children are terrified by the most intense fighting that has been seen in the country’s capital since the war broke out. Electricity has been unreliable for more than three years so solar power has started to emerge as an alternative albeit an intermittent one.
Children are suffering
Mohammed Awadh of Save the Children has been taking shelter in a small store room with his wife and baby. He says his nearly two-year-old daughter already recognises the sounds of bombs and he is forced to explain to her why the family cannot go outside. He adds that the building shakes under constant bombardment and there is electricity for at most six hours a day so it is very dark. Children also face the risk of being hit by shrapnel or stray bullets. In some cases, they can be injured by bomb blasts of explosives that have been deliberately placed in populated areas.
Medical care is not being delivered
Ambulances cannot reach the injured according to reports and in some cases, they have even been the target of attacks. Schools are completely shut and pregnant women are unable to go to hospital when they go into labour. The streets are empty as a result of the fighting and airstrikes but if you read the mainstream media you would probably be unaware because this conflict just does not seem to be generating any media attention.
Aid agencies cannot respond
Tamer Kirolos who heads up Save the Children in Yemen and is currently in Sana’a says the aid agency is simply unable to leave the city and reach people in need of life saving support because of intense fighting. Kirolos adds that millions of children in Yemen are already sick and acutely malnourished as a result of the blockade and war. Families are unable to get food or obtain medical care. Basic supplies such as clean water are running out and it is hard to imagine the situation in the country could have gotten worse but with the most recent escalation in fighting that is exactly what has happened.
Famine is possible
The Saudi-led coalition has imposed a devastating blockade on all imports regardless of whether those imports constitute deliveries of aid. The blockade was imposed last month and since then has been partially lifted, however Save the Children is warning that famine is a real possibility now and there has been a worrying rise in the number of children suffering from sever acute malnutrition.
Prices of essentials has soared
The supply cut has meant hospitals have been crippled as have water and sanitation plants. Grain-processing has ceased and all of that has meant the price of essentials has soared. Water prices for example have spiked by as much as 600% in some areas and this means that families do not have access to clean water which increases the risk of an outbreak of waterborne diseases such as cholera. Save the Children is calling for the fighting to stop at least for a short while, in order to allow aid agencies and medics to reach people in need.
