As the Saudi-led coalition continues its blockade of Yemen, civilians are being deprived of life-saving food and medicine. The UN’s Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs told RT the blockade needs to be lifted so the vulnerable can be helped.

“This blockade was put into place because of the missile attack on Riyadh, but the effect of the blockade has been to make it much more difficult to run the aid operation,” Sir Mark Lowcock told RT. “We are hopeful that the blockade will start to be lifted tomorrow, with eight flights in again to Sanaa.”

READ MORE: Saudi-led military coalition authorizes resumption of UN flights to Yemen

Lowcock noted that the United Nations, the Red Cross, and other organizations have made “very good progress” in bringing the cholera epidemic under control. However, he stressed that “until the food and fuel and the medicines get back in there, we won't be able to sustain those operations in the way we have been doing.” He went on to reiterate that airports and ports need to be opened, “otherwise we will run out of supplies [on the ground] and we won't be able to do the life-saving work we have been doing.”

WATCH RT’s FULL INTERVIEW WITH SIR MARK LOWCOCK