UN aid chief: Fight against famine is being lost in Yemen

Mark Lowcock said the situation "has deteriorated in an alarming way in recent weeks"

EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / TOPSHOT - A Yemeni child suffering from malnutrition lies on a bed at a hospital in the northern district of Abs in the northwestern Hajjah province on September 19, 2018. The three-year conflict between Yemen's Saudi-backed government and Huthi rebels linked to Iran has pushed the already impoverished country to the brink of famine, leaving many unable to afford food and water, with a total of 5.2 million children at risk of starvation according to the Britain-based NGO Save the Children. / AFP / Essa Ahmed
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The U.N. humanitarian chief is warning that the fight against famine is being lost in Yemen, which is already facing the world's worst humanitarian crisis with 75 percent of its 29 million people in need of assistance.

Mark Lowcock told the Security Council on Friday that the situation "has deteriorated in an alarming way in recent weeks."

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He says the situation is "bleak," adding: "We may now be approaching a tipping point, beyond which it will be impossible to prevent massive loss of life as a result of widespread famine across the country."

Mr Lowcock says two recent developments threaten to overwhelm the aid operation — a serious economic deterioration that has reduced the value of Yemen's currency by some 30 percent and intensified fighting around the key port of Hodeida.