Lowcock asked the Security Council to take immediate measures to stabilize the economy and support the exchange rate.

That includes useable liquidity for Yemen's central bank, and the implementation of long-standing commitments to pay key public-sector salaries across the country, so that more people have the wherewithal to buy food and keep the commercial markets alive. It is, at the same time, essential to avoid any policy measures that would damage "the already paper-thin confidence" of commercial importers any further, said Lowcock. International aid cannot replace the commercial markets, he noted.

Meanwhile, all stakeholders must uphold their obligations to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure and facilitate access to vulnerable people, he said.

"We have to keep all ports open; we have to keep main roads open; we have to keep them functional; we have to keep them safe. No humanitarian site should be used for military purposes. The lifeline through which the aid operation runs now hangs by a thread."

He asked all parties to the conflict to find practical solutions to key issues, including the opening of an air bridge for civilians to seek medical treatment outside Yemen for diseases no longer treatable inside the country. And of course, the parties need to get around the negotiating table and engage seriously with the UN mediator on a positive path toward peace, he said.

"While we will continue to push to scale up the humanitarian response, humanitarian organizations simply cannot look after the needs of all 29 million Yemenis. That is untenable."

Yemen has been in civil war in the past three years, pitting Houthi rebels and forces loyal to the government of Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. Saudi Arabia leads an Arab military coalition to support the Hadi government.

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