Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the humanitarian situation in Yemen.

According to the UN, Yemen remains the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, with 80% of the entire population, over 24 million people, requiring some form of humanitarian assistance. More than 20 million people in Yemen do not have reliable access to food and almost 10 million people face extreme food shortages.

We are concerned that the outbreak of COVID-19 in Yemen is already exacerbating this devastating humanitarian situation.

DFID modelling estimates that over 100,000 Yemenis are now likely to have been infected by COVID-19. With only half of Yemen’s health facilities currently functional, we are extremely concerned by the capacity of the Yemen’s healthcare system to respond.

Ultimately, a political settlement is the only way to properly address the worsening humanitarian crisis. We therefore strongly encourage all parties to engage with Special Envoy Martin Griffiths to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.