Sana’a – As military and security forces leave Hodeidah, Ras al-Isa and Salif ports, the United Nations Development Programme is ready to help improve the efficiency and productivity of the ports.

“Hodeidah port is the lifeline for the north of Yemen,” said Ms. Lise Grande, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen.

“Upgrading the facilities at the ports is urgent,” said Ms. Grande. “It is a race against time to move food, fuel, medicines and other vital commodities as quickly and smoothly as possible to the millions of people across the country who depend on humanitarian assistance.”

As soon as redeployment is complete, UNDP will help to upgrade port facilities including watch towers, berths and the navigation channels.

“This is phase one of our critical efforts to restore normal operations at these ports,” said Auke Lootsma, UNDP Yemen’s Resident Representative. “We are drawing upon our extensive experience, as well as national and international expertise, to ensure we can fully restore the functionality of the ports as soon as possible.”

The redeployment follows commitments made in the Stockholm Agreement in December 2019, which has been supported by the UN Mission to Support the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA), UNDP, the World Food Program and many other UN agencies.

“Twenty million Yemenis are food insecure and hundreds of thousands of people are at risk of cholera,” said Ms. Grande. “The UN is ready to do everything we can to make the Stockholm Agreement a success.”

Yemen is the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. The 2019 Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan (YHRP) requires US$4.2 billion, but is currently only 20 per cent funded. The United Nations is appealing to donors to provide funds as quickly as possible.