The United Nations has urged donors to fund relief agencies in Yemen to provide healthcare assistance to over 17 million people urgently in need due to the country's decade-long conflict.
In a statement released on Sunday via the "Ex" platform, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Yemen stated, "17.8 million people in Yemen need healthcare assistance in 2024. About 75% of them are children and women."
The statement emphasized, "On World Health Day, we remind of the urgent need for funding to enable relief agencies to continue providing vital healthcare assistance to those who are in dire need," affirming that "Yemen cannot wait."
Yemen has been enduring a decade-long conflict, a continuous power struggle between the internationally recognized government and the Houthi group, with ramifications affecting various aspects including the healthcare sector.
International organizations estimate that only half of the healthcare facilities are operational, suffering from severe shortages of medicines, equipment, and staff.
Since September 2014, the Houthi group has controlled the majority of provinces in central and northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, while a Saudi-led Arab coalition launched military operations on March 26, 2015, in support of the Yemeni army to reclaim these areas from the group's grip.
The ongoing war in Yemen has claimed the lives of 377,000 people as of late 2021, inflicting cumulative losses of $126 billion on the Yemeni economy.
Additionally, 80% of Yemen's population now requires humanitarian assistance, according to the United Nations.
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