UN relief chief to travel to Yemen, Somalia, Kenya

Stephen O’Brien, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, will travel from Oslo to Yemen, Somalia and Kenya between Feb. 26 and March 5 to meet people most affected by humanitarian crises, a UN spokesman said here Friday.

“In all three countries, Mr. O’Brien will meet people most affected by humanitarian crises, which are caused chiefly by conflict and drought,” Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here.
“Millions of people in Yemen and Somalia face the very real risk of famine over the coming six months if aid efforts are not rapidly scaled up,” the spokesman said.

In Yemen, more than 7 million people are severely food insecure and 460,000 children are suffering severe acute malnutrition, while in Somalia nearly 3 million people urgently need food assistance, he said.

Kenya declared a drought emergency on Feb. 10, with at least 23 counties affected, he said, adding that the number of food insecure people in Kenya has more than doubled to 2.7 million in the past six months.

O’Brien will meet with stakeholders on the humanitarian crises in all three countries, he added.