UN warns of rising disease risks among displaced people in Yemen

The United Nations has warned of growing risks of disease spreading among displaced people amid continuing military escalation in Yemen, calling for increased humanitarian support and funding.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Thursday on US social media company X that humanitarian teams were continuing to provide vital assistance to civilians displaced and affected by the fighting.

"But with tens of thousands displaced and disease risks rising, humanitarians require urgent support, including funding and unhindered safe access," it said.

Earlier Thursday, Yemen's Executive Unit for the Management of Displacement Camps said the number of people displaced by the military escalation since July had risen to nearly 198,000.

The displacement is placing additional pressure on health and humanitarian services in a country already facing widespread deterioration of its healthcare system and shortages of food, water and sanitation services.

Late last month, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned that acute malnutrition among children was rising as fighting intensified, with displacement and disrupted access to healthcare increasing the risks facing affected children and families.

The latest displacement follows a military escalation that began in July and intensified in September, after a period of relative calm following a UN-brokered truce in April 2022.

Yemen has been at war since the Houthi group seized the capital Sanaa and several provinces in September 2014. A Saudi-led Arab coalition intervened in March 2015 in support of the Yemeni government.