UN says $4bn needed for help in Yemen

A top UN humanitarian official said the world body will require about $3.9 billion this year to help 16 million Yemenis.

Acting Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator Ramesh Rajasingham told the UN Security Council that “the biggest constraint right now is funding.”

“Last year’s response plan was 58 per cent funded, making it the lowest funded appeal for Yemen since 2015,” he added, reminding that the lack of financial support had forced the World Food Programme (WFP) to announce food cuts for eight million people in Yemen.

Rajasingham also appealed to donors for increased support, warning that “other vital programmes, including water, protection and reproductive health services, have also been forced to scale back or close in recent weeks for lack of funds.”

Saudi Arabia launched the devastating military aggression against its southern neighbor in March 2015 in collaboration with a number of its allied states and with arms and logistics support from the US and several Western states.

The aim was to return to power the former Riyadh-backed regime and crush the popular Ansarullah movement which has been running state affairs in the absence of an effective government in Yemen.

The war has stopped well shy of all of its goals, despite killing tens of thousands of Yemenis and turning entire Yemen into the scene of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.