The director of U.N. humanitarian operations warned Tuesday that 7.6 million people in conflict-torn Yemen face severe food shortages and are "one step" from famine.
John Ging, who just returned from Yemen, told a news conference that there has been "a shocking fall off" in support from the donor community over the last few months for the millions of Yemenis who need food, clean water and basic health care.
The U.N. appeal for $1.8 billion to help more than 13 million Yemenis this year is just 16 per cent funded, he said, despite Yemen being declared one of the U.N.'s highest-level humanitarian emergencies.

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Ging urged governments facing multiple demands for assistance not to forget Yemen. He said the United States, United Kingdom, European Commission and Japan had contributed to the 2016 appeal.
The biggest change from 2015, Ging said, was the absence of a contribution from Saudi Arabia which donated $245 million to last year's U.N. appeal. He said the donor base for Yemen must be expanded, saying Saudi Arabia, the Gulf states and many other countries were being contacted. He stressed that any contributions from parties to a conflict can't have strings attached.
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