SANAA (December 13, 2018) – The Yemen peace talks in Sweden have resulted in an agreement to stop the violence in the port city of Hodeidah, as the warring parties agreed to a province-wide ceasefire and a withdrawal of troops from the city.
“The agreement from Sweden is incredibly encouraging to all of us who seek an end to the war and suffering in Yemen,” says Johan Mooij, CARE’s country director in Yemen. “We are delighted to hear that parties to the conflict have agreed to a ceasefire in and withdrawal from Hodeidah and a humanitarian corridor in Taiz. This is the best news in a long time for the people in Yemen.”
Fighting has persisted in Hodeidah since June, displacing around half a million people. Eighty percent of Yemen’s commercial and humanitarian aid arrives through Hodeidah port – and the blockage of two vital routes out of the city to the rest of Yemen has also impeded the delivery of lifesaving aid.
“The conflict in Yemen has led to the world’s worst humanitarian crisis,” adds Mooij.
Across Yemen, 1.8 million children are suffering from acute malnutrition, of whom 400,000 children under five are suffering from severe acute malnutrition.There are around 1.1 million malnourished pregnant and breast-feeding women. Hunger and famine are a direct result of war, and can only fully be eliminated by bringing the conflict to an end. There is no military solution to the crisis in Yemen. The only solution is political, and the negotiations in Sweden represent a landmark first step to ending this conflict.
About CARE
Founded in 1945 with the creation of the CARE Package®, CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. CARE places special focus on working alongside women and girls because, equipped with the proper resources, they have the power to lift whole families and entire communities out of poverty. That’s why women and girls are at the heart of CARE’s community-based efforts to improve education and health, create economic opportunity, respond to emergencies and confront hunger. Last year CARE worked in 93 countries and reached more than 63 million people around the world. Learn more at care.org.
Media Contact:
Mahmoud Shabeeb, +962-79-146-39-03 mshabeeb@care.org (based in Amman, Jordan)
Nicole Harris, 404-735-0871 nharris@care.org