UN seeks $2bn to aid in pandemic
THE UN yesterday called on countries to raise at least $2.4 billion (R40bn) for Yemen, where more than five years of war have pushed the country’s healthcare system to a state of collapse with little capacity to test or treat those infected by the coronavirus.
Saudi Arabia, which co-hosted the UN pledging event, has vowed to pay half a billion dollars in aid for Yemen this year, $300 million of which will be funnelled to the UN and related aid agencies. The kingdom, which has been at war in Yemen since 2015 against Iranian-allied Yemeni Houthis, hopes to use the event to showcase its role as one of the largest donors of aid to the war-torn country. The conflict has killed thousands and created the world’s worst humanitarian disaster.
In his remarks at the virtual pledging event, UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres stressed that ending the war is the only way to address the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.
The situation in Yemen is “catastrophic”, said Mark Lowcock, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief co-ordinator. “That is what more than five years of war has done to Yemen.”
Meanwhile, Guterres said death rates from Covid-19 in the southern city of Aden alone were among the highest in the world.
“There are shortages of testing devices, oxygen, ambulances and basic protective equipment,” he said.
“Even hospitals that are operational and equipped may not have a reliable electricity supply.”
Compounding the myriad problems Yemenis face is access to clean running water needed for sanitisation in the fight against the coronavirus as well as cholera, which more than 2.3 million people have contracted since 2017. Also, two-thirds of the country’s roughly 30 million people rely on food assistance, while more than 310 000 children suffer severe acute malnutrition due to starvation.
The dwindling funds are the result of several factors, but among the top reasons is obstruction by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who control the capital, Sanaa, and other territories. The US decreased its aid to Yemen this year, citing interference by the Houthis.