36 donors yesterday pledged $1.3 billion in donations at a high-level pledging event for the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.  While world leaders highlighted the seriousness of the humanitarian situation in Yemen, the donations of $1.3 billion fall short of the needs by around US$2.9 billion. The shortfall in funding comes amidst growing numbers of people in need in Yemen: 23.4 million up from 20.7 million last year.

Yesterday’s high-level pledging event was co-hosted by the United Nations and the Governments of Sweden and Switzerland. Yemen remains one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world with around 24 million people in need of assistance, including 13 million children.

Seven years of conflict and economic collapse have devastated Yemen and exhausted people’s coping capacities. In 2014, civil war broke out in Yemen, which has put millions of people to flight. Tens of thousands civilians, including at least 10,000 children, have been killed or injured and millions have been pushed deeper into poverty, hunger and desperation. At the conference, H.E. President of the Swiss Confederation Ignazio Cassis pointed out that while everyone’s attention is turned towards the war in Ukraine, we must not forget other crises in the world. More than ¾ of the Yemeni population are in need of humanitarian aid, but due to the lack of funding, the World Food Programme and other humanitarian organizations had to cut back rations, leading to growing hunger.

23 million Yemenis face hunger, disease and other life-threatening risks and it is only getting worse. Last year, numerous countries provided aid to the country, but the crisis is far from over. The UN Secretary-General António Guterres remarks: “Your pledges are an essential lifeline for the people of Yemen.  Last year, you contributed over 2.3 billion dollars to Yemen’s Humanitarian Response Plan.  Because of your generosity, nearly 12 million people received life-saving assistance every month in 2021”, he says.

Nearly US$4.3 billion is required in 2022 for water, sanitation, hygiene to 7 million people, healthcare for 13 million people, and education to over 5 million people. Guterres iterates further: “We are ready to keep supporting the Yemeni people – but we cannot do it alone. We need your help. I urge all donors to fund our appeal fully and commit to disbursing funds quickly”.

 

Shortfall in funding

H.E. Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ann Linde, commented: “At a time when the humanitarian needs are increasing in Yemen, international support is needed more than ever and must be sustained. This is a joint responsibility for us all”.

Taline Elkhansa, country director of the Danish Refugee Council stated: “While donors should be thanked for their pledges, this significant gap in funding will mean that millions of people will not receive the humanitarian assistance they desperately need. It means that many people will be pushed to the brink of famine, that those injured by the conflict could be denied critical, life-saving medical care and that many of the 4 million people forced to flee their homes will be unable to return.”

Read more here:

Sweden co-hosts High-Level Pledging Event on Yemen

Sweden contributes $2 million to UNICEF

Donors meet to pledge support for humanitarian response in Yemen