FN avholder 1.mars en donorkonferanse for Yemens befolkning. Sverige og Sveits er vertsnasjoner for konferansen som har fått navnet «High-Level Pledging Event for the Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen.» I følge Per Olsson Fridh, den svenske ministeren for internasjonalt utviklingssamarbeid, er krisen i Yemen for øyeblikket verdens største humanitære katastrofe.
Situasjonen i Yemen forverres kontinuerlig som følge av mange innvirkende faktorer. Landet har vært preget av borgerkrig siden 2014, og med klimakatastrofer, kolerautbrudd og pandemiviruset covid-19 er Yemen sterkt svekket. Yemen sliter også med en sultende befolkning som følge av manglede matsikkerhet og feilernæring. Mangel på tilstrekkelig økonomisk støtte til organisasjoner som Verdens matvareprogram (WFP) bidrar også til å svekke den humanitære bistanden til den sultende befolkningen.
Hele 82% av Yemens befolkning på mer enn 30 millioner har behov for humanitær assistanse, og nesten 20 millioner mennesker er utsatt for vold. Per nå er det kun 10 millioner mennesker som har tilgang til de ulike tiltakene – for å nå alle kreves ytterligere 3.4 milliarder dollar.
Hovedfokuset til donorkonferansen er for medlemsland til å inngå økonomiske forpliktelser for å støtte den humanitære bistanden til Yemen. «Vi må gjøre alt vi kan for å samle verden i en felles innsats for å bekjempe fattigdom og sult i Yemen,» uttalte den svenske ministeren.
«I am married, and we have one daughter. Her name is Amal and she is 2 years old. We live with my mother, my sisters and my brother. My parents are divorced, my father is in Al Hodeidah. My mother is the one who took care of us since we were little. I am proud of my mother; she is the most precious thing in my life. The thing that makes me the happiest is when all of us sit down and discuss our wishes. My sister wants to complete her studies at the university. My brother wants to get married. I miss stability. I hope we can return to our hometown.»«I have 10 children, 2 died and 8 are alive. My children are the most precious thing in my life. The hardest thing I have been through is when I lost one of my sons to a brain tumor.»«When bombing got close to our house in Al Hodeidah, we left everything and ran away. The road to Aden was very difficult, with rockets and bullets being fired at checkpoints. I don’t have a job; I ask people for help and for food for my children. Sometimes we get food and sometimes we do not get anything. My sister died in the bombing in Al Hodeidah. Everything changed in my life.»rrHanan is divorced and taking care of her children, aged 13 and 7.Taybah, aged 5. Displaced by war in Yemen. «My favourite thing to do is to play with my dolls.»The situation in Hodeidah was very bad. Our homes were hit, and the houses were destroyed by shelling. I lost my father. Our life here is one day working and 10 days without work. We eat two meals a day. If we eat breakfast and lunch, then we do not eat dinner. nMy son has a heart disease. The treatment he needs is not available here; I bring it from Hodeidah. If he stops taking the treatment for a few days, he gets very tired. It is a treatment for life. The thing that I am most proud of is my son, he keeps me going in life. My son, Rakan, and his mother. My family is the most important thing. And all I wish is for my son to be cured.«The bombing was so heavy. We had to carry everything we could and leave the house immediately. I left my ID papers and everything important behind me, Fatima says. «We need to rent a room, we cannot live inside the tent because of the wind and heavy rain. We get wet sometimes and this is really hard.»rrFatima has 11 sons and daughters. She fled Hodeidah three years ago because of air strikes and bombing.
