The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Yemen aid lifeline nears breaking point as UN food agency appeals for $870 million
More than $870 million is needed to sustain lifesaving aid to war-torn Yemen over the next six months, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday, as UN humanitarians also warned that some projects were nearing “breaking point”.
“WFP needs $870 million to continue to deliver life-saving assistance to millions in Yemen in need of humanitarian assistance to survive. This is from June to December,” said Elisabeth Byrs, WFP senior spokesperson, speaking via videoconference.
The appeal comes after more than five years of fighting in the Arabian peninsula country, between the Government of Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi now based in the south – supported by a Saudi-led international coalition - and the mainly Houthi-led opposition, which occupies the capital, Sana’a, in the north.
According to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, four in five Yemenis need humanitarian assistance.
Yemen was already one of the poorest countries in the world before violence escalated in March 2015, and today millions of people lack access to sufficient food, fuel and medicine, almost all of which is imported.
The WFP spokesperson noted the UN agency’s particular concern for “over 20 million Yemenis are food insecure, of which nearly 10 million are acutely food insecure”.
Ms. Byrs added that the agency “expects coronavirus to push many more children in Yemen into acute malnutrition. Over two million children in Yemen are already acutely malnourished, and it’s a figure that WFP fears will increase.”
« Nous sommes particulièrement inquiets pour les 20 millions de Yemenis qui souffrent d’insécurité alimentaire et dont 10 millions d’entre eux de ces 20 millions sont - souffrent - d’insécurite alimentaire sévère. Il y a egalement des enfants qui posent problème, il y avait deux millions d’enfants au Yemen qui souffrent de malnutrition aïgue. Nous pensons que ce chiffre va malheureusement continuer d’augmenter. »
As of Monday evening, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported nearly 50 confirmed deaths from COVID-19 in Yemen.
But there are widespread concerns that the situation is much worse.
It is also widely feared that with around half of the country’s health facilities shut, Yemen lacks the means to prevent this latest threat to an already weakened population that faces the ever-present threat of cholera and ongoing conflict that has displaced more than four million people.
UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, echoed concerns that the aid situation in Yemen threatens to spin out of control, describing it as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis with unparalleled protection concerns.
“We’re seeing a growing number of families resorting to harmful coping mechanisms, such as begging, child labour and marrying of children to survive. And we’re reaching a potential breaking point in our programmes,” said Charlie Yaxley, UNHCR spokesperson, via videoconference.
Among the projects most at risk are the agency’s cash-assistance programmes for internally displaced and impoverished host communities.
Up to one million people will be exposed if the projects stop unless funding is found, Mr. Yaxley noted.
Under the scheme, each eligible family receives around $170 in instalments over six months to help pay for rent, buy food, extra clothes and fuel, along with medicine and other urgent concerns.
The development comes ahead of a UN pledging conference for Yemen planned for next Tuesday.
- Medium-wide shot: exterior, flag alley, Palais des Nations, United Nations Geneva, sunny, blustery.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) - Elisabeth Byrs, Senior Spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP): “WFP needs $870 million to continue to deliver life-saving assistance to millions in Yemen in need of humanitarian assistance to survive. This is from June to December.”
- Wide shot: UN Geneva main entrance, elevated view of front gates.
- SOUNDBITE (FR) - Elisabeth Byrs, Senior Spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP): « Nous sommes particulièrement inquiets pour les 20 millions de Yemenis qui souffrent d’insécurité alimentaire et dont 10 millions d’entre eux de ces 20 millions sont - souffrent - d’insécurite alimentaire sévère. Il y a egalement des enfants qui posent problème, il y avait deux millions d’enfants au Yemen qui souffrent de malnutrition aïgue. Nous pensons que ce chiffre va malheureusement continuer d’augmenter. »
- Medium shot: UN Geneva flag alley.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) - Elisabeth Byrs, Senior Spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP): “Over 20 million Yemenis are food insecure, of which nearly 10 million are acutely food insecure. WFP expects coronavirus to push many more children in Yemen into acute malnutrition. Over two million children in Yemen are already acutely malnourished, and it’s a figure that WFP fears will increase.”
- Medium shot: UN Geneva pedestrian entrance and flag alley, viewed from the Place des Nations, Geneva.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) - Charlie Yaxley, spokesperson, UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR): “We’re seeing a growing number of families resorting to harmful coping mechanisms, such as begging, child labour and marrying of children to survive. And we’re reaching a potential breaking point in our programmes.”
- Wide shot, UN Geneva, UN flag flying.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , IFRC
Ukraine: Families in ‘survival mode’ amid Russian strikes and -18°C cold
Families across Ukraine are in “constant survival mode” amid ongoing waves of Russian missile and drone strikes that have left blocks without power for days at a time, while temperatures plunge to a deadly -18°C (-0.4°F), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press conference in Geneva, UN Human Rights Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence urges Iranian authorities to end violent repression and calls for accountability.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF
Gaza: A ceasefire that ‘still buries children’ is not enough, says UNICEF
Airstrikes, drone strikes and hypothermia are among the lethal conditions prevailing in Gaza despite the ceasefire, with more than 100 children killed since early October, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
At the UN bi-weekly press conference in Geneva, UN Human Rights Spokesperson Marta Hurtado commented on the widespread repression and intimidation against political opposition ahead of the general elections in Uganda.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF
Aid agencies marked 1,000 days of war in Sudan on Friday with a grim reminder that the conflict has created the world’s biggest hunger crisis and largest displacement emergency. Every day, civilians have been “paying the price for a war they did not choose”, said the UN aid coordination office, OCHA.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
Ravina Shamdasani, UN Human Rights spokesperson, made the following comments at the bi-weekly press briefing of the United Nations on the United States’ intervention in Venezuela.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , OHCHR
Venezuela: US military intervention ‘far from victory for human rights’, makes world less safe – UN rights office
The UN rights office (OHCHR) on Tuesday expressed concern over the situation in Venezuela following the United States military operation and seizure of President Nicolás Maduro over the weekend, insisting that the move runs counter to international law and damages global security.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM
As fighting spreads across Sudan in a dangerous new escalation, "people are scared, people are fleeing their homes," the UN migration agency, IOM, said on Friday, noting that more than 50,000 people have fled attacks and violence since late October in Kordofan region alone.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Volker Türk the UN Human Rights High Commissioner made the following remarks during and Oral update tothe Human Rights Council intersessional meeting on Venezuela.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
New flu variant is surging, but vaccination still our best bet - WHO
Amid an early start to the Northern Hemisphere influenza season a new variant of the virus is rapidly gaining ground - but vaccination remains the “most effective defence”, the UN health agency said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
In Sudan, deep concerns persist for the many tens of thousands of people believed to still be trapped in the city of El Fasher in the Darfur region, but UN aid agencies believe they may soon get access to the embattled city.