The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
UN seeks $4.3 billion to help 17.3 million most vulnerable Yemenis
The UN's Emergency Relief Chief Martin Griffiths appealed on Monday for $4.3 billion to assist 17.3 million of Yemen’s most vulnerable people, after years of grinding war and economic hardship.
Speaking in Geneva ahead of the High-Level Pledging Event for the Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen, Mr. Griffiths highlighted how Yemen continues to teeter on the brink of catastrophic food insecurity, with two in three people in need of help.
“By any standards, it's enormously important,” he said. “We're looking at 21 - more than - 21.7 million people this year in Yemen in need of humanitarian assistance. And of those we're targeting in this humanitarian response plan, about 17 million.”
Mr. Griffiths urged support for the appeal, co-hosted by Switzerland and Sweden: “Last year, the 2022 plan, we received, thanks to the generosity of governments like those here and others, over $2.2 billion on a $4.3 billion budget. Again, we're looking for about the same amount this year: $4.3 billion.”
Although UN aid coordination office OCHA said that Yemen was not experiencing "full-scale military offensives”, no formal peace has been declared either, after fighting escalated in 2015, between the Government and opposition forces that control the capital, Sana’a.
And despite the improved security situation brought about by the truce from 2 April to 2 October last year that led to a 76 per drop in conflict-related displacement, victims of landmines and explosive remnants of war increased by 160 per cent, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
“I think it is crucial that we maintain our support for Yemen in particular at this point in time and to also reach the people that we have not reached, for example before the truce,” said Andrea Studer, Assistant Director General, Head of Middle East and North Africa (MENA) - Europe Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland.
The need for safe aid access throughout Yemen remains crucial for communities struggling to feed themselves, find work and resist flooding linked to the climate crisis.
According to OCHA, an estimated 5.4 million—25 per cent—of the people in need across Yemen are affected by aid access constraints. These are most numerous in northwest Yemen, where they are largely bureaucratic impediments, the UN office said. It noted with concern, too, that carjackings, kidnappings and other violence are on the increase, particularly across areas primarily under the control of the internationally recognized Government of Yemen.
“We call on all parties to the conflict to refrain from obstructing, restricting or interfering in humanitarian operations and we ask specifically for female aid workers to be allowed to access women and girls in need,” Ms. Studer said.
Today, in the absence of a comprehensive political settlement, continued displacement, the economic situation, and lack of capacity of state institutions, are likely to remain a key driver of needs, OCHA warned.
One of the biggest challenges is displacement estimated at 4.5 million people, or 14 per cent of the population.
“In the last year, humanitarian efforts have managed to improve the hunger situation for two million Yemenis, averting famine,” said Carl Skau, Deputy Director-General, Head of Department for Multilateral Partnerships, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sweden. “And this, despite the global food security impact of the Russian aggression. At the same time, we also know that there needs to be an improved humanitarian operating environment, so that assistance is even more effective, that we can do more with each dollar.”
In 2022, humanitarian partners in Yemen delivered lifesaving assistance to nearly 11 million vulnerable people every month.
Monday's High-Level Pledging event seeks this year to support four priority areas: raise awareness of Yemen’s severe humanitarian crisis; expand the limited improvements made in 2022; mobilize support to address underlying drivers of human needs; call for an end to the conflict.
ends
STORY: Yemen Humanitarian Appeal 2023 – OCHA
TRT: 1 mins 59s
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 27 February 2023 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior wide shot, Palais des Nations flag alley, nations’ flags flying, a bright day.
- Wide shot, TV cameras in foreground, podium speakers to rear, Press photographer, journalists.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Martin Griffiths, UN Emergency Relief Chief: “By any standards, it's enormously important. We're looking at 21 - more than - 21.7 million people this year in Yemen in need of humanitarian assistance. And of those we're targeting in this humanitarian response plan, about 17 million.”
- Medium, video camera showing Martin Griffiths in viewfinder, the UN official is also to rear and the presser signal is broadcast on a large TV screen.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Martin Griffiths, UN Emergency Relief Chief: “Last year, the 2022 plan, we received, thanks to the generosity of governments like those here and others, over $2.2 billion on a $4.3 billion budget. Again, we're looking for about the same amount this year: $4.3 billion.”
- Wide, press room, journalists and light panels, TV cameras.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Andrea Studer, Assistant Director General, Head of Middle East and North Africa (MENA) - Europe Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland: “I think it is crucial that we maintain our support for Yemen in particular at this point in time and to also reach the people that we have not reached, for example before the truce.”
- Medium-wide, press room, Press photographers, podium speakers.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Andrea Studer, Assistant Director General, Head of Middle East and North Africa (MENA) - Europe Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland: “We call on all parties to the conflict to refrain from obstructing, restricting or interfering in humanitarian operations and we ask specifically for female aid workers to be allowed to access women and girls in need.”
- Medium, journalists and podium speakers, other participants following proceedings.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Carl Skau, Deputy Director-General, Head of Department for Multilateral Partnerships, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sweden: “In the last year, humanitarian efforts have managed to improve the hunger situation for two million Yemenis, averting famine. And this despite the global food security impact of the Russian aggression. At the same time, we also know that there needs to be an improved humanitarian operating environment, so that assistance is even more effective, that we can do more with each dollar.”
- Medium, podium speakers, side shot.
- Medium, participants looking on.
- Close, journalist’s hand holding pen, writing notes in notepad.
- Wide, journalists and participants, seated.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The telecommunications shutdowns in Afghanistan in September had serious and far-reaching impacts on people’s lives, according to a briefing paper published today by the UN Human Rights Office and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Jeremy Laurence at the UN Geneva press briefing made the following comment on the ASEAN declaration on the right to a healthy environment.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IFRC , OCHA , OHCHR , UNCTAD , UNHCR , UNOG , WHO , WMO
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of the World Meteorological Organization, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Health Organization, and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
1
1
1
Edited News | IFRC , OCHA , WMO
‘Catastrophic’ Hurricane Melissa hours from landfall in Jamaica as humanitarians rush to save lives
Millions in Jamaica and across the Caribbean are bracing for massive impact from Hurricane Melissa on Tuesday as the UN and partners are warning of a “severe” and “immediate” humanitarian threat.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNEP
UNEP Press conference: Minamata Convention on Mercury COP6
1
1
Edited News | WHO
‘We need all routes to open’: in Gaza WHO calls for ramp-up of medevacs, easier access for essentials
Two weeks since a ceasefire agreement entered into force in Gaza the World Health Organization (WHO) noted progress on the flow of aid while calling for more evacuations of critical patients and eased entry for essential medicines and supplies.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | WHO , WMO
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives of the World Health Organization and the World Meteorological Organization.
1
5
1
1
Press Conferences | UNCTAD
Press conference on the launch of the Sevilla Forum on Debt, on the margins of the sixteenth United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD16).
1
12
1
1
Edited News | WMO , UNITED NATIONS
UN chief urges boost to life-saving weather warning systems, stresses role of climate change science
No country is safe from the devastating impacts of extreme weather — and saving lives means making early-warning systems accessible to all, UN chief António Guterres said on Wednesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
Gazans’ response to food distributions ‘overwhelming’ as humanitarians scale up under fragile ceasefire
In Gaza, the ceasefire is enabling UN humanitarians to reach more desperate people with life-saving food, but greater access is needed to contain the spread of famine.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNFPA , WFP , WHO , OCHA , WMO
Alessandra Vellucci, Director, United Nations Information Service Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives of the United Nations Populations Fund, the World Food Programme, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Health Organization and the World Meteorological Organization.