Years-long conflict continues to breed poverty in Yemen
A doctor checks a malnourished child as he receives medical treatment at the malnutrition treating department in Al-Sabeen hospital in Sanaa, Yemen, on October 17, 2019, the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. (Mohammed Mohammed/Xinhua)
Yemen's years-long military conflict continues its escalation, forcing many families to flee their houses in the war-ravaged Arab country amid lack of a political solution to achieve lasting peace.
The impact of the ongoing conflict is tremendous as it prominently continues to exacerbate poverty among hundreds of families living in various conflict-affected areas of Yemen.
Most of the Yemeni families are largely affected by the internal conflict that destroyed their properties and pushed them into abject poverty.
Um Hawa, a displaced woman, told Xinhua that it's a very difficult task to earn a livelihood as the military conflict is still ravaging in Yemen.
"Fishing was the main source of livelihood for my husband, but we are now poor due to the war that pushed us into this miserable situation," said Hawa, a mother of four children.
She said that "we become homeless and are struggling to get basic needs such as clean drinking water or food from relief organizations."
"Eradicating poverty will only be realized through the cessation of this deadly conflict and finding economic solutions to rescue the Yemeni people," said Salem Zaher, a displaced school teacher.
On the outskirts of Aden province, scores of poor families are living in a displacement camp after fleeing their war-ravaged areas located in other Yemeni provinces.
Ashraf Ahmed, a supervisor working at the internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in Aden, urged the international humanitarian organizations to operate in Yemen to help the displaced families.
The United Nations' International Day for the Eradication of Poverty has been observed on Oct. 17 each year since 1993.
"Many families are now suffering in displacement tents amid a lack of daily basic needs. They are still hoping to receive food aid," said Ahmed.
The internal military conflict between the Iranian-backed Houthis and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government recently entered its fifth year, aggravating the suffering of Yemenis and deepening the world's worst humanitarian crisis in the country.
The ongoing fighting between the two warring rivals plunged the most impoverished Arab country into more chaos and violence.
Three-quarters of the population, or more than 22 million people, urgently need humanitarian help as many of them struggle to find their next meal.
