UN hopes for aid boom as Yemen peace talks loom

Yemen’s peace talks this week are an opportunity to bring in urgent humanitarian aid for millions of people who have been deprived of vital supplies since the war escalated nine months ago, the UN humanitarian chief said on Thursday.

“In Yemen I’m very hopeful that December 15 will herald a new peaceful context in which we can very much extend (aid) — both rapidly and in volume — to all the people in need,” Stephen O’Brien said in an interview.

“Whilst just over 21 million people have some form of humanitarian need across Yemen, the immediate vital needs encompass something in the region of five million people for food, water, shelter and urgent medical care on all sides of the conflict lines.” The United Nations will launch peace talks in Switzerland on Tuesday, when a seven-day ceasefire is expected to begin.

6,000 people dead

Gulf Arab states called on Thursday for an international reconstruction conference for Yemen after any deal to end its civil war, which has killed 6,000 people and caused widespread damage to the economy and infrastructure.

Yemen relies on imports for almost all its food and all of its medicine. The UN World Food Programme said on Thursday it had managed to send two convoys of trucks into the city, a total of 31 trucks with enough food for 145,000 people for a month. A third convoy is on its way, WFP said.

On Thursday, the UAE provided Dh73.5 million to ensure the basic needs of the people of Yemen as per the directives of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, as part of the UAE’s response to the United Nations and the international organisations’ plans to help the people in Yemen.