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UN receives only 7% of humanitarian aid required for Yemen

March 29, 2017 at 1:53 am

UN medical and food aid in Taiz, Yemen, on 4 March 2017 [Abdulnasser Alseddik/Anadolu Agency]

The United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, Jimmy McGoldrick said the UN humanitarian response plan for 2017 has received only seven per cent of the requested $2 billion.

McGoldrick said during a press conference held Tuesday at the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) office in the Yemeni capital of Aden that “the conflict in the country and its economic consequences are causing one of the world’s greatest humanitarian crises”, adding that nearly 19 million people need humanitarian assistance and protection.

He said that the fighting in the country for the past two years has exacerbated the humanitarian situation which threatens 27 million people with starvation.

McGoldrick reviewed the latest estimates of Yemen’s humanitarian needs, particularly with respect to food, security, nutrition, protection, health, displacement, education and others, saying this year’s humanitarian response was aimed at giving priority to lifesaving and protective assistance to people facing acute needs, wherever they were.

Read: Yemen’s warring parties should protect ports, not UN’

“We want at the press conference to inform the world about the reality of the dire humanitarian situation in Yemen,” he said.

McGoldrick has accused the media in the country of not conveying the reality of the tragic situation and informing the world about the magnitude of the disaster.

He called on the parties to the conflict in Yemen to “abide by international and humanitarian conventions and to work for the unconditional access of assistance to all parts of the country”.

McGoldrick noted that the work of international organisations and humanitarian response can not meet all needs unless there is parallel work to stimulate the banking, commercial and economic sectors in the country, and the search for political solutions as the best solution to the problem of conflict in Yemen.

He regretted that the leaders of the conflict in the country think about their political interests without regard to the magnitude of the humanitarian disaster in the country, which is affecting the lives of 19 million people.

He denied accusations that the organisation works in areas under the control of Houthi rebels and neglects areas under the control of the legitimate government.