Humanitarian emergency in Yemen, the UN needs 4.3 billion dollars – RT in French

Ravaged by war, Yemen is experiencing one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. The UN estimates that $4.3 billion needs to be raised to help more than 17 million Yemenis. A donors’ conference is taking place in Geneva on February 27.

The UN needs $4.3 billion this year to help millions of people in war-torn Yemen. A donors’ conference will be held on February 27 in Geneva to try to raise funds.

Humanitarian aid organizations need the money to help 17.3 million people in Yemen, where the war has already claimed hundreds of thousands of lives since 2015 and plunged the poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula into one of the most serious humanitarian crises in the world. The climate crisis adds to the seriousness of the situation.

No more famine in Yemen?

The record amounts of aid to deal with the current multiple crises require Herculean efforts from donor countries, recognizes the international organization, which stresses that “without this lasting support for the aid operation in Yemen, the lives of millions of Yemenis will be at stake and efforts to end the conflict once and for all will be even more difficult”.

“The international community has the power and the means to end this crisis. And that starts with fully funding our appeal and committing to disburse the funds quickly,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who will be present on February 27 in Geneva for a conference co-organized with Sweden and Switzerland.

“Together, let’s finally reverse the course of suffering. Let us give hope to the Yemeni people,” he insisted in the press release.

In 2022, the UN obtained more than 2.2 billion dollars, making it possible to assist nearly 11 million people across the country each month, with food, but also shelter or equipment. educative.

Towards the end of last year statistics showed progress (the number of starving people dropping from 161,000 to zero, according to the UN). The belligerents had agreed to a truce which ran from April to October last year.

“But this progress remains extremely fragile and could quickly be reversed,” warns the UN, if the money were to run out.

“While it is essential to maintain vital activities”, recalls the organization, it also requires “sustainable and large-scale investments to rebuild and restore Yemen”.

“This will help reduce people’s long-term suffering – as well as the scale and cost of the humanitarian appeal,” the statement added.

The conflict ravaging Yemen pits government forces, supported since 2015 by a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia, against Houthi rebels, close to Iran. The insurgents control the capital Sanaa and large swathes of territory in the north and west of the country.