The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock said “there is now a clear and present danger of an imminent and great big famine engulfing Yemen,” in a speech to the UN Security Council in New York on Tuesday.
The UN humanitarian chief described the situation as “much bigger than anything any professional in this field has encountered during their working lives.”
Lowcock said that a previous estimate that 11 million people faced “pre-famine conditions” and needed external aid to surivive was wrong and the number actually stood at 14 million.
The recent clashes around Hodeidah were only worsening the situation, he added, and called for an immediate ceasefire in the area.
Yemen has been plunged into a severe humanitarian crisis amid its ongoing civil war.