A UN appeal for aid to Yemen on Monday to alleviate the world’s worst humanitarian disaster raised about US$1.7 billion — a result UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called “disappointing.”
At a virtual pledging conference cohosted by Sweden and Switzerland, Guterres had appealed for US$3.85 billion this year to address the impoverished Arab country’s dire needs.
However, the amount raised was less than what the UN received last year, and US$1 billion short of what was pledged in the 2019 conference, he said.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Guterres called for countries to “consider again what they can do to help stave off the worst famine the world has seen in decades.”
From the outset, it was unlikely that donors would meet the UN’s goal given the COVID-19 pandemic and its devastating consequences for economies around the globe. Corruption allegations in Yemen aid operations were also a factor.
Yemen’s war started in 2014 when the Iran-backed rebel Houthis seized the capital, Sana’a, and much of the country’s north. The Saudi-led, US-backed coalition intervened months later to dislodge the rebels and restore the internationally recognized government.
The conflict has killed about 130,000 people, spawned the world’s worst humanitarian disaster and reversed development gains by 20 years, the UN Development Program said.
Half of Yemen’s health facilities are shuttered or destroyed, and 4 million Yemenis have been driven from their homes.
The pandemic, cholera epidemics and severe malnutrition among children have led to thousands of additional deaths.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that more than 16 million people in Yemen would go hungry this year, with about half a million already living in famine-like conditions.
Guterres called for a nationwide ceasefire and UN-led negotiations to end the war.
“In the end, the only path to peace is through an immediate, nationwide ceasefire... There is no other solution,” he said.
Norwegian Refugee Council secretary general Jan Egeland, who is on a week-long visit to Yemen, also called the outcome of the conference “disappointing,” adding that the lack of funding would cause massive cuts to Yemen aid.
“The shortfall in humanitarian aid will be measured in lives lost,” he said.
Saudi Arabia, which leads the coalition fighting the Houthis, announced it would donate US$430 million in aid for Yemen this year to be funneled through the UN and related agencies.
Riyahd had pledged US$500 million last year, the largest amount pledged by any country.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken led the US delegation to the conference, which took place amid efforts by US President Joe Biden’s administration to bring an end to the conflict.
He said the US would donate US$191 million for Yemen this year, a decrease of about US$35 million from the amount it announced in last year’s pledging conference.
He called for a ceasefire and for warring parties to halt their interference in aid operations, and “allow assistance to reach the innocent women, children and men.”
“We can only end the humanitarian crisis in Yemen by ending the war in Yemen, and so the United States is reinvigorating our diplomatic efforts to end the war,” he said.
Other major pledges came from Germany (US$241 million), the United Arab Emirates (US$230 million), the UK (US$123.23 million) and the EU (US$116.2 million).
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