Daily airstrikes, the world’s worst cholera outbreak, seven million people on the brink of famine – and now the country’s borders have been closed, restricting the delivery of lifesaving aid to families in desperate need.
Johan Mooij, CARE’s Country Director in Yemen said that since Monday, “Nothing has got in or out of the country.”
“Yemen is one step away from famine, cholera is rife and provision of public services continues to deteriorate… People depend on humanitarian aid.”
Without the delivery of food, medical supplies and clean water, lives are at risk.
35-year-old mother Asala has four children, who all depend on the delivery of aid to survive. They receive baskets of food from CARE.
Her family lost everything when their house was destroyed in an airstrike.
“Two of my children received head injuries,” Asala said. “They were treated in hospital, but they still suffer from severe headaches from time to time. We don’t have money to eat. How can I afford to take them to hospital?”
Two months ago, Asala’s own life was at risk when she was diagnosed with cholera – the result of drinking unclean water, the only option available to them. Her life was saved by assistance she received at the hospital.
Poverty, lack of a functioning health system and limited access to safe water and hygiene mean the disease is extremely challenging to control. Cholera has now spread to almost every part of Yemen and, without delivery of medical supplies and clean water, will continue to claim lives across the country.
Asala is grateful for the support her family receives from CARE, but with borders closed, they, along with the 63 per cent of people who do not have enough to eat, will find their lives at risk once more. Over two million children in Yemen are already acutely malnourished.
“Sometimes we have nothing to eat for two days,” Asala said. “Our meal consists only of a piece of bread.”
If the borders are not opened to humanitarian aid, families like Asala’s will suffer needlessly.
Families in Yemen urgently need your help today. Read more about our emergency response and donate here.
