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The first assessment of a major UN aid storage facility in war-torn Yemen has been carried out since it was cut off by fighting last September, the Organization reported on Wednesday, hailing it as “a great first step”.

Briefing journalists in Geneva, the World Food Programme (WFP) confirmed that a team had reached the Red Sea Mills near the key port of Hudaydah on Tuesday.

It has appealed for sustained access to the site, which contains enough wheat to feed 3.7 million people for a month.

I was very much encouraged by speaking with His Excellency the Minister a few days after my arrival in the country. I was very happy that our dialogue very clearly manifested that His Excellency is very determined and would like to do everything possible to process through the government, in consultation with political forces and then passed by the Parliament, the new budget of the country. It is one of the, if not the most important document and piece of legislation submitted in every country and the basis on which the political forces and the Parliament and the Government operate.

Donors have pledged $2.6 billion to provide urgently needed support to millions of Yemeni civilians facing an “overwhelming humanitarian calamity” after nearly four years of brutal war, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday.

Speaking on the sidelines of a pledging conference in Geneva, Mr. Guterres welcomed the generosity of Member States, who pledged 30 per cent more than during last year’s conference to raise life-saving funds for Yemen.

I am very grateful and honoured to be received today by His Excellency the Prime Minister. It is our first substantive meeting, although I had the honour to attend the commemorative ceremony on the 14th of February and that was the first time that we shook hands but today we discussed.

Paying tribute to reporters around the world who “put their lives on the line” to tell important stories, UN chief António Guterres lamented on Monday that freedom of the press was increasingly “shrinking” worldwide, and called on decision-makers to better protect journalists and media workers.

Four years of “mind-boggling violence” in Yemen “has not spared a single child”, a top UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) official said on Monday, on the eve of a pledging conference in Geneva to help alleviate the suffering of millions across the country. 

Preparations are being finalized at the UN for a $4.2 billion appeal to scale up help to millions of people in Yemen, where years of war have created the world’s worst humanitarian emergency.

But the situation remains “horrific” for people everywhere in the war-torn country, according to Jens Laerke, spokesperson from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA):

Addressing parliament elected officials from around the world gathered at United Nations Headquarters in New York on Thursday for an annual hearing, UN chief António Guterres called for their support on legislation and financing of global solutions to global problems, such as climate change, uncoordinated migration and the dangers of some new technologies.

“Significant progress” is being made in implementing the deal reached in Stockholm last December between Government and Houthi leaders in Yemen, according to United Nations Special Envoy Martin Griffiths.

A projected near-doubling of measles infections has been identified amid rising severe and protracted outbreaks all over the planet, in poor and rich countries alike, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.

The appeal to Member States to close gaps in vaccine coverage follows the previously announced news that an estimated 110,000 people died from the highly infectious but easily preventable disease in 2017.