UN calls for $4.3bln to help millions in Yemen

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
27 Feb 2023 08:04
2 Shares

Millions of Yemenis are on the brink of starvation as a result of the economic collapse caused by the Saudi-led aggression on Yemen for the eighth year in a row.

Yemeni children attend class outdoors in a heavily damaged school on the first day of the new academic year in Yemen on October 17, 2022. (AFP)

Ahead of a donors' summit on Monday, the UN said it required $4.3 billion this year to help millions of people in war-torn Yemen.

Humanitarian organizations require the funds to assist more than 17 million people in the country, which has been destroyed by an eight-year Saudi-led war and blockade.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed during the Saudi-led war, which has thrown the poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula into one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters.

Yemen is also at the forefront of the climate crisis, with severe drought and flooding threatening lives, the UN repeatedly warned.

It stressed that "record global humanitarian needs are stretching donor support like never before."

"But without sustained support for the aid operation in Yemen, the lives of millions of Yemenis will hang in the balance, and efforts to end the conflict once and for all will become even more challenging," it said in a statement.

Yemen has been suffering for about 8 years now, due to the Saudi coalition's aggression against the country. The humanitarian situation remains difficult due to the ongoing blockade of ports imposed by the Saudi coalition forces, which limits the availability of fuel, food, and medicine, leaving thousands of sick Yemenis to their own fate

UN chief Antonio Guterres, who will attend Monday's donor conference in Geneva, said the international community had "the power and the means to end this crisis."

"And it begins by funding our appeal fully and committing to disbursing funds quickly," he said in the statement.

Last year, the UN raised more than $2.2 billion to enable aid agencies to reach nearly 11 million people across the country every month.