UN raises $1.2B for Yemen, far below its 2023 target
Global donors on Monday pledged about $1.2 billion at a conference aimed at generating funds to help millions of people in Yemen suffering from the fallout of an eight-year civil war, a U.N. official said. The amount is far below a target of $4.3 billion set by the United Nations to stave off one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
More than 21 million people in Yemen, or two-thirds of the country’s population, need help and protection, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, which says the humanitarian needs in Yemen are “shocking.” Among those in need, more than 17 million are considered particularly vulnerable.
“The people of Yemen deserve our support. But more than that, they deserve a credible path out of perpetual conflict and a chance to rebuild their communities and country,” said U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, addressing the donors.
Martin Griffiths, OCHA’s head, said they received 31 pledges at Monday’s conference, totaling about $1.2 billion. He said the U.N. hopes to collect more funds throughout the year to help cover its needs.
Charities working in Yemen slammed the shortfall in global pledges, despite appeals from humanitarian officials.
“The international community today showed it has abandoned Yemen at this crucial crossroads,” said Erin Hutchinson, the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Yemen Country Director. “This is woefully inadequate and gives the signal that some humans are less valuable than others.”
The International Committee of the Red Cross said, “Funding shortages risk turbo-charging Yemen’s humanitarian woes from bad to worse.”
The high-level gathering was co-hosted by Sweden, Switzerland, and the U.N. in the organization’s Palais des Nations in Geneva. It was attended by officials from across the world.
Sweden’s Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Johan Forssell called the conference a “good start.”
“But with 21 million Yemenis in need of assistance, clearly more funding will be needed throughout the year,” he said.
Addressing the conference virtually, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. will provide more than $444 million in humanitarian assistance to Yemen in 2023. He called on donors to step up their contributions to meet the humanitarian demands in Yemen, pointing to last year’s funding shortages that forced U.N. agencies to scale down operations including food rations for thousands of families.
“The scale of the challenge we face is daunting. But I urge everyone to keep our focus on the people we seek to help,” he told the conference.