Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of access for humanitarian supplies from the port of Aden, Yemen.

The UK tracks Yemen’s imports and ports to monitor trends and predict pressure points in humanitarian supplies.

Although Aden port remains operational, we are concerned by a backlog of 15,000 containers waiting to be processed. Fighting across the south of the country has also closed many major overland routes, affecting the onward delivery of commercial goods and humanitarian services.

The UK regularly raises humanitarian concerns with all parties to the conflict, calling on them to comply with UN Security Council Resolution 2451 and to facilitate safe, rapid and unhindered access for humanitarian and commercial supplies, including through Aden port and onward movement across the country.