A pledging conference to raise funds for Yemen is taking place in Geneva on Tuesday, amidst what the UN describes as “the world’s largest humanitarian crisis”.

Before the conflict between the Saudi-led coalition, supporting Yemen’s government, and Houthi rebels began, Yemen was already the poorest country in the Middle East.

Now, after two years of civil war, the World Food Programme says the country is on the brink of famine.

The sheer scale of the deprivation is staggering: of Yemen’s 25.6 million people, almost 19 million are in urgent need of assistance, the UN says.

Almost seven million are “severely food insecure”, meaning they need food aid immediately. Two million children are acutely malnourished.

“The situation is nothing short of catastrophic,” says Robert Mardini, who is director of Middle East operations for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and has recently returned from Yemen.

“What everyone tells you is that life has become unbearable.”

Funding shortfall

But despite repeated warnings about a potential disaster in Yemen, the UN’s appeal for $2.1bn to bring relief is only 15% funded. Aid agencies say government ministers gathering in Geneva for the pledging conference must now commit.