联合国人道官员警告,也门距离饥荒一步之遥

The U.N. humanitarian chief warned Monday that war-torn Yemen is “one step away from famine.”

Stephen O'Brien told the U.N. Security Council that more than 21 million Yemenis – 80 percent of the population – are in need of some form of humanitarian assistance.

O'Brien gave the briefing by telephone from Bahrain, where he has arrived for a 10-day visit that also will include Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. He traveled to Yemen earlier this month.

“Over 2 million people are malnourished nationwide, including 370,000 children who are severely malnourished,” O'Brien said. That is an increase of 65 percent compared to the year before the conflict began.

Food prices have surged 20 percent since fighting began last year, and a Saudi-imposed blockade has impaired food deliveries to a country that pre-conflict imported 90 percent of its food stocks.

Worryingly, cholera is starting to appear, with 61 confirmed cases and 1,700 suspected cases. O'Brien said the United Nations and its humanitarian partners are establishing 21 cholera treatment centers, but that they would be insufficient to stop the escalating spread of the disease. Additionally, the humanitarian chief said more than 10,000 children under the age of five have died from preventable diseases.

The U.N. has classified Yemen as a level three emergency – Syria and Iraq are the only other two humanitarian crises rated this severe.

联合国人道救援事务负责人星期一警告说，饱受战火摧残的也门“距离饥荒只有一步之遥”。

奥布赖恩告诉联合国安理会说，也门2千1百多万人需要某种形式的人道援助，相当于也门人口总数的百分之80。

奥布赖恩是从巴林通过电话向安理会介绍的上述情况，目前他正在该地区对科威特，卡塔尔和阿联酋进行10天访问。10月早些时候他访问了也门。

奥布赖恩说：“也门全国有超过两百万人营养不良，包括37万儿童严重营养不良。”这一数字比冲突开始前上升了65%。

自去年冲突开始以来，也门食品价格上涨了20%，沙特实施的封锁使食品难以运送到也门这个90%的食品依靠进口的国家。

令人担心的霍乱病开始出现，已有61起被证实病例，还有1千7百个疑似病例。奥布赖恩说，联合国与人道合作伙伴要建立21个霍乱治疗中心，但是可能仍不足以制止疾病的蔓延。他还说，也门有1万多名5岁以下儿童死于可以预防的疾病。

联合国将也门列为三级紧急人道危机国，其他两个被列为三级紧急人道危机国家是叙利亚和伊拉克。