$1.7b aid pledge for Yemen disappointing: UN chief
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday that a “disappointing” $1.7 billion had been pledged for humanitarian aid in Yemen in 2021, warning that “cutting aid is a death sentence.” The United Nations has been seeking $3.85 billion to avert a large-scale famine in Yemen. Guterres said in a statement the $1.7 billion raised on Monday was “less than we received for the humanitarian response plan in 2020 and a billion dollars less than was pledged at the conference we held in 2019.”
Earlier in the day, more than 100 governments and donors were taking part in a virtual pledging conference — co-hosted by Sweden and Switzerland — as Yemen’s Houthi rebels push to seize the government’s last northern stronghold.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed and millions gone hungry in the six-year conflict, which the UN describes as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. “I implore all donors to fund our appeal generously today to stop famine engulfing the country. Every dollar counts,” Guterres said as the conference opened.
With aid funding dropping in 2020 amid the coronavirus downturn, resulting in the closure of many humanitarian programmes, the situation in the country has become even more dire.
The UN and its partners last year received $1.9 billion — about half of what was required.
It called on Monday for “immediate funding” to support 16 million people in Yemen, where some two thirds of the population is in need of some form of aid to survive. “Today, famine is bearing down on Yemen,” said Guterres. “The race is on, if we want to prevent hunger and starvation from taking millions of lives.”
“Reducing aid is a death sentence for entire families.” The UN is seeking to raise $3.85 billion from donors, including wealthy Gulf nations, after falling $1.5 billion short of the required $3.4 billion last year. The UAE pledged on Friday to give $230 million. According to the latest UN data, more than 16 million Yemenis — about half the 29-million population — will face hunger this year, and nearly 50,000 are already starving to death in famine-like conditions.
It warned that 400,000 Yemeni children under the age of five could die from acute malnutrition.
The UN said in September that critical aid had
I implore all donors to fund our appeal generously today to stop famine engulfing the country. Every dollar counts Antonio Guterres, UN chief
been cut at 300 health centres across Yemen due to lack of funding, with more than a third of its major humanitarian programmes in the country either reduced or shut down entirely.
Twelve aid groups, including Save the Children and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), warned in a joint statement on Friday of a “catastrophe” for Yemen if funding cuts continue.
“Severe aid cuts have deepened the suffering,” they said, adding that six million people, including three million children, have no clean water or sanitation services during the coronavirus pandemic.
NRC spokeswoman Sultana Begum said they will “be forced to make further life-threatening cuts” if not enough money is given.
Meanwhile, the World Food Programme said on Sunday it was “facing a significant funding shortfall”, adding it urgently needed $482 million to fund operations from March to August. —