A country where millions of people are already starving could run out of food in as little as two months if a key port gets shut down, desperate aid workers in Yemen say.
that three-quarters of war-torn Yemen鈥檚 29 million people rely on humanitarian assistance, including eight million who are considered 鈥渟everely food insecure.鈥�
Much of that aid comes through the port city of Hodeidah, which has been increasingly gripped by fighting in recent weeks. That has caused food prices to rise even more.
In one northern village, children have been boiling tree leaves into paste to stave off starvation, even though it provides no nutrition and has been making them feel ill.
Oxfam Canada鈥檚 Melanie Gallant says that if the Hodeidah port becomes cut off, 鈥渆ssentially it would be plunging millions of Yemenis even further into hunger.鈥�
Medical supplies would also be cut off in a country that has dealt with tens of thousands of cases of Cholera in the past year alone.
Gallant said Oxfam is calling on governments and citizens to to help prevent the problem from getting worse.
鈥淵emen is the world鈥檚 worst humanitarian disaster at the moment,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 really no time to lose.鈥�
With a report from CTV鈥檚 B.C. Bureau Chief Melanie Nagy
