The number of women and children migrating from the Horn of Africa to Gulf countries through Yemen has significantly increased and is a cause for concern, according to the head of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), an agency of the United Nations (UN).

The treacherous journey from Ethiopia, Somalia and Djibouti through Yemen, called the Eastern Migration Route, has seen a 64 percent increase in the past year, with people seeking better livelihoods and with larger numbers of women and children travelling alone, IOM Director General Antonio Vitorino told The Associated Press.