UN hunger chief tells Gulf nations to ‘step up’ in tackling widespread hunger in Yemen

UNITED NATIONS: Gulf states must shell out more money to tackle widespread hunger in Yemen, which has been devastated by two years of civil war, the head of the World Food Programme said.

David Beasley’s call for help is the latest salvo from the United Nations hunger agency, which wants more action from nations that neighbour Yemen such as Saudi Arabia, which has been leading a military campaign there.

“What we’re challenging are the Gulf states to step up and do more, particularly when these conflicts are predominantly in your region,” Beasley said during a side event of the UN annual General Assembly, a week-long meeting in New York of world leaders and diplomats.

“These are your cousins, these are your brothers, these are your sisters ... so you need to step up more.”

Two weeks ago, Beasley argued that Saudi Arabia alone should fund steps to cut disease and hunger in Yemen, comments that were unusually forthright for a UN official.

A quarter of the population of Yemen is on the brink of famine, according to UN data.

Yemen’s war has killed at least 10,000 people as a Saudi-led coalition fights the Iran-aligned Houthi movement, which controls most of northern Yemen, including the capital.

Beasley, who began his job in April, said his challenge to Gulf countries followed the completion of his first objective – “to protect the funding from the United States” to the WFP.

US donations of some US$2 billion to the WFP, which distributes emergency food, represent about a third of the UN body’s budget, he said. — Reuters