Aden (South24 Center) 

Forty civil society organizations operating in South Yemen’s capital, Aden, launched an urgent humanitarian appeal on Wednesday (June 4) to the UN Security Council, calling for immediate intervention to contain what they described as a "total collapse" threatening the lives of millions in the city amidst an unprecedented deterioration in services, health, and economic sectors.

The organizations warned in a joint statement of a worsening multi-layered crises in Aden, most notably the near-complete breakdown of basic infrastructure, skyrocketing inflation and unemployment rates, and the decline in citizens’ purchasing power, which has stripped away the minimum requirements for a dignified life. The statement noted that the health sector faces catastrophic challenges with the spread of deadly diseases such as dengue fever, malaria, and cholera, alongside rising infection rates, poor epidemic monitoring systems, severe shortages of medicines and medical supplies, and hospitals overwhelmed beyond capacity.

The organizations stressed that the international silence toward Aden’s "multi-faceted disaster" is no longer acceptable, warning that continued lack of global intervention could lead to an imminent explosion of the humanitarian situation with potentially catastrophic regional consequences. They emphasized that Yemen’s continued classification under Chapter VII of the UN Charter places legal and moral responsibility on the international community to intervene in protecting civilians and ensuring minimal stability.

The organizations demanded that the Security Council take urgent steps, including ensuring emergency support for the health sector, providing medicines, vaccines, and medical supplies alongside backing for the public service institutions to restore water, electricity, and sanitation. It also called for forming an independent UN fact-finding committee to visit Aden and submit a comprehensive report to the Security Council.

The statement concluded by stressing the need to move from "observation" to "humanitarian action”, urging immediate collective international intervention to contain the crisis and save the population from an uncertain fate.

The appeal was signed by prominent local organizations, including the South24 Center for News and Studies, Nahda Makers Organization, Humanitarian Journalism Foundation, Aden for Rights and Development, and Ma’alla Girls Initiative, alongside dozens of other civil society entities operating in Aden.