A multiple mission starts on Thursday a visit to Yemen to evaluate the humanitarian situation which has been aggravated by recent events in the poorest country in the region, Saba reported on Wednesday.
Official and international reports have recently warned Yemen is on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe. The reports said about ten million Yemeni people live under the poverty line and are facing hunger, urging urgent humanitarian aid to the country. The WB said a person lives on two US dollars a day in Yemen.
The mission will be led by Islamic Relief and include teams from the UN, the EU, the USAID, the Arab League and the GCC, Saba said.
On Tuesday, media quoted Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Atta Al-Mannan Bakheit, as saying the situation in Yemen has become worse than the situation in Somalia during famine in the past.
"In Somalia there were about three million people facing danger, but in Yemen more than double this figure are in danger," he said, according to media.
During the three-day visit, the international mission will meet with senior Yemeni officials, donors and aid agencies and will pay field visits to areas, which have been most affected, according to Saba.
OIC suggested to send the mission to assure Yemen that the international community stands by it during the transition period, Saba said.
A delegation from OIC visited Washington in March, met with US officials and signed an agreement with the USAID, which has been translated into the mission, it said.
Saba also said a delegation from OIC has arrived in Sanaa to prepare for the visit of the mission, which plans to rally funds to help Yemen meet humanitarian needs.
This month, the UN said it has rallied about $450 million in emergency humanitarian aid to Yemen, saying the aid will help meet about 40% of the country's humanitarian needs.
The humanitarian situation has recently drawn the world's attention to one of the poorest countries of the world reeling from unrest which has deepened its woes.
About 500,000 internally displaced persons due to wars against Al-Qaida militants in the south and conflicts in other areas including Saada in the far north as well as continuous exodus of Africans add to the challenges faced in the country.