UN Help Drive To Avert Yemen Disaster Falls Far Brief

The United Nations expressed dissatisfaction after a pledging conference on Wednesday (March 16) garnered less than a third of the money it said it needed to end a humanitarian calamity in Yemen’s war-torn country.

The UN had requested US$4.27 billion (S$5.8 billion) to assist 17.3 million people, but only received US$1.3 billion, with several major donors going missing.

Yemen is the world’s biggest humanitarian calamity, according to the UN, and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that it should not be obscured by the Ukraine crisis.

Nonetheless, the funds raised fell well short of what was required, prompting the organisers to consider holding a second conference later this year.

In ending the convention in Geneva, UN humanitarian director Martin Griffiths noted, “We heard 36 donors promise approximately US$1.3 billion for the humanitarian response.”

“But don’t get us wrong: we were hoping for more.” And it’s a shame that we weren’t able to get pledges from those people we expected to hear from.

“We shall work tirelessly to ensure that… we do stand in solidarity with the Yemeni people.”

According to the United Nations, 23.4 million people in Yemen require humanitarian assistance, with 12.9 million in desperate need.

 

UN leader warns of a “catastrophe”

Since 2014, Yemen has been engulfed in a deadly war pitting Iran-backed Huthi rebels against internationally recognised government backed by a Saudi-led army coalition.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict, both directly and indirectly, and tens of thousands have been displaced.

“Yemen may have faded from the headlines, but human misery continues,” Guterres said at the start of the conference. “A financing deficit might spell disaster.”

According to Guterres, the country is in ruins and the economy is in shambles, with tens of thousands of people facing starvation and two out of every three Yemenis living in extreme poverty.

“We must support the people of Yemen today as a question of moral responsibility, human dignity and compassion, international solidarity, and life and death,” Guterres said.

Russia’s war in Ukraine is likely to have a negative impact on Yemen, because the country relies almost entirely on food imports, with Ukraine providing roughly a third of its wheat supplies.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the US would provide an additional $585 million to Yemen.

“We’re up against a slew of issues around the world, and it’s made more difficult by the fact that the emphasis has shifted elsewhere,” he said.

‘Absolutely devastating,’ says the author.

According to the UN’s World Food Programme, the number of people in need of food assistance increased by 1.2 million in the previous year to 17.4 million, and is expected to reach 19 million by the second half of 2022.

“It’s extremely catastrophic, and now we’re out of money,” WFP government director David Beasley told the gathering. For the next six months, we’ll need a billion dollars, and we only have a little more than 10% of that.”

According to him, the number of people “knocking on the door of starvation” will increase from over 5 million to over 7 million.

“Don’t force us to choose between feeding Ukrainian children and feeding Yemeni children,” he urged.

Switzerland and Sweden co-hosted the convention.

The total amount raised “does not equal the significant requirements we have on the ground,” according to Manuel Bessler, Switzerland’s humanitarian aid chief.

“We’re extremely interested to hear from Gulf donors about where they are and how they plan to address this funding situation,” he added.

Many speakers at the convention claimed that development could only be made if there was peace.

Gulf Arab countries are hoping to hold talks between Yemeni fighters and Huthi rebels in Riyadh at the end of the month.

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