WASHINGTON
A UN official on Thursday warned of the effect of the situation in Yemen on women and girls.
"The crisis has a disproportionate and devastating impact on women and girls. They have suffered from systematic discrimination and exclusion for decades," Tom Fletcher, under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator told the Security Council.
"It is a grim picture," he said, adding about 9.6 million women and girls are in "severe need" of life-saving humanitarian assistance as they face hunger, violence and a collapsing health care system.
"There is no sign of progress for them," he stressed.
Fletcher said Yemen’s maternal mortality rate is "the highest" in the Middle East, and 1.3 million pregnant women and new mothers are malnourished.
More than 6 million women and girls face "heightened risks" of abuse and exploitation, he said, stressing that 1.5 million girls in Yemen remain out of school.
Pledges to support women with whatever resources the UN has available, Fletcher said: "If this is not possible it would have serious impacts on communities already on the precipice of disaster."
"Women and children, again, will bear the brunt," he added.
Yemen remains mired in one of the world’s worst humanitarian and economic crises, fueled by nearly a decade of war between government forces and the Houthis.
The war in Yemen has claimed over 150,000 lives and has led to one of the worst humanitarian crises globally, resulting in tens of thousands of additional deaths.