UN receives nearly $1 billion from Saudi Arabia and UAE for Yemen crisis

Ahead of the upcoming international fundraising conference for Yemen, the United Nations has received nearly $1 billion contributions from Saudi Araba and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and urged other donors to follow suit and help tackle the world’s worst humanitarian crisis there.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed his deep gratitude for the $930 million provided on Tuesday evening by the two donor countries to the Yemen Humanitarian Fund. “These funds cover almost one-third of the $2.96 billion required to implement the 2018 Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan, which will enable the United Nations and its partners to help alleviate the suffering of millions of vulnerable people across Yemen,” read a statement issued by Mr. Guterres’ office, following the signing of the memorandum on the voluntary contributions.

More than 22 million people in Yemen require humanitarian aid or protection assistance, including 2 million who are internally displaced due to the ongoing conflict between the Government and rebel forces.

The Secretary-General and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, Prince Mohamad Bin Salman Al Saud, discussed the critical need for humanitarian access across the country and for all of Yemen’s ports to remain open to both humanitarian and commercial movement. They also discussed the need for the parties to the conflict to work towards a negotiated political settlement through inclusive intra-Yemeni dialogue.

On 3 April, donors will meet in the humanitarian pledging conference in Geneva, Switzerland.

[UN News]

This entry was posted in Humanitarian Aid, International Cooperation by Grant Montgomery.