The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Yemen’s future recovery hangs in balance, warns senior UN aid coordinator
Ongoing conflict and violence across Yemen continue to impact heavily on the country’s people who desperately need the fighting to end, so that they can rebuild their lives, the UN’s senior humanitarian official in the country said on Monday.
“I’ve seen the destruction of schools, of factories, of roads and bridges; I’ve seen the destruction of power systems so what made Yemen work seven years ago in many cases no longer exists,” said David Gressly, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen.
Speaking in Geneva after a weekend that saw a car bomb at Aden airport reportedly leave 25 people dead and 110 injured, the veteran aid worker warned over the recent escalation of fighting in the oil-rich northern province of Marib.
“This is now adding to additional displacement in that area, a place where we already have over a million people displaced,” he said. “And secondly, we have enclaves where fighting is continuing where we’re not able to provide support to.”
Longstanding concerns over potential famine in the country prompted a UN-led appeal for $3.6 billion in funding in March which has raised nearly $2.1 billion to date.
An additional $500-$600 million was also pledged during the recent UN General Assembly, Mr. Gressly added, noting that although the international response has been higher than for other emergencies, “it’s been particularly focused – and we understand why – on the food security and nutrition side, for most immediate lifesaving response.”
This has left the situation inside Yemen “very fragile and if that’s not sustained, if we’re not getting the new pledges on time…in 2022, we will revert back to where we were in March,” Mr. Gressly insisted.
He explained that people needed more than emergency care: “health, education, water, access and support to IDPs (internally displaced people) and livelihood support; those are almost all funded below 20 per cent, and so while the lifesaving is important, we can’t, we cannot afford to ignore the rest.”
Critical to Yemen’s recovery is support for the country’s civil servants, many of whom have not been paid in many months, amid conflict between the internationally backed government of Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi and Houthi opposition forces, who occupy much of the north of the country.
Mr. Gressly stressed the importance of finding ways to support these civil servants as they were key to the country’s recovery – and the UN’s aid programmes. Without them, “the whole humanitarian response” risks becoming more expensive, he said.
ends
STORY: Yemen Update – David Gressly - OCHA
TRT: 2’05”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 11 October 2021, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior wide shot, United Nations Geneva, flag alley, national and territorial colours flying, a fine day.
- Medium shot, TV Camera crews, journalists in the UN Geneva Press room.
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH): UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen, David Gressly: “I’ve seen the destruction of schools, of factories, of roads and bridges; I’ve seen the destruction of power systems so what made Yemen work seven years ago in many cases no longer exists.”
- Close-up: large-screen TV showing Mr. Gressly and to rear.
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH): UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen, David Gressly: “We are also concerned now with the escalation in fighting around Marib; this is now adding to additional displacement in that area, a place where we already have over a million people displaced. And secondly, we have enclaves where fighting is continuing where we’re not able to provide support to.”
- Medium shot, journalist seated and masked in foreground, Mr. Gressly to rear.
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH): UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen, David Gressly: “We did request in March $3.6 billion, we have close to $2.1 billion already, so it’s more than 50 per cent, so in that sense good, particularly relative to other responses, but it’s been particularly focused – and we understand why – on the food security and nutrition side, for most immediate lifesaving response.”
- Close-up, TV camera viewfinder showing Mr. Gressly on screen and to rear.
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH): UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen, David Gressly: “But it’s very fragile and if that’s not sustained, if we’re not getting the new pledges on time, or it’s not sustained in 2022, we will revert back to where we were in March.”
- Medium shot, journalist, masked, using mouse and looking at laptop screen, TV cameras reflected in translators’ booths to rear.
- UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen David Gressly: “It’s really for the other components of the response: health, education, water, access and support to IDPs and livelihood support; those are almost all funded below 20 per cent, and so while the lifesaving is important, we can’t, we cannot afford to ignore the rest.”
- Medium-wide shot, photographer sitting on the floor, taking photograph of Mr. Gressly.
- Medium shot, photographer preparing to take photograph.
- Medium shot, journalist in foreground, masked, TV camera operator to rear, masked.
Similar Stories
1
2
1
Press Conferences | WMO
WMO Greenhouse Gas Bulletin
1
1
1
Edited News | UNDP , UNICEF , OCHA , ICRC
Around $70 billion will be needed to reconstruct Gaza and make it safe after two years of war, UN development experts said on Tuesday, while aid agencies reported that far too little aid continues to reach desperate Palestinians.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | WMO , UNICEF , UNDP , ICRC , WHO , OCHA
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons and representatives of the United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Health Organization, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Meteorological Organization, and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
2
5
1
2
Press Conferences | UNCTAD
UNCTAD / 16TH CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT
As the global economy undergoes tectonic shifts in trade, finance and technology, global economic and development leaders will gather in Geneva this month to chart a path through mounting uncertainty and fragmentation. Ahead of the 16th session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD16), Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan outlines how countries can navigate record debt, disrupted supply chains, volatile investment flows and accelerating digital transformation. UNCTAD / UNTV CH
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
The UN human rights office, OHCHR, on Friday welcomed the Nobel Peace Prize committee’s decision to name Maria Machado as this year’s laureate, in recognition of her work promoting the Venezuelan people’s democratic hopes.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA , UNICEF , WHO
As Gazans jammed the main route leading north on Friday after a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas was announced, UN aid teams repeated their call to open all crossings into the devastated enclave to prevent famine spreading.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IFRC , UN WOMEN , UNHCR , UNICEF , UNRWA , WHO
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives from the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Children's Fund, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the World Health Organization.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNECE
UNECE Press conference on the Ministerial Meeting on Housing Affordability and Sustainablility
On 8 October 2025, UNECE member States' ministers meet to focus on the urgent challenges and strategic priorities surrounding housing affordability and sustainability in the UNECE region. Ten years after the adoption of the Geneva UN Charter on Sustainable Housing, ministers will highlight challenges and key priorities for the achievement of the Charter's objectives, and present good practice and strategic solutions in this regard. As the key outcome of the meeting, ministers will be invited to agree on practical commitments towards sustainable and affordable housing.
The meeting will take place as part of the eighty-sixth session of the UNECE Committee on Urban Development, Housing and Land Management (8–10 October 2025).
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF , WHO
Two years of Gaza-Israel war bring ‘indescribable’ pain: UN humanitarians
Two years since the Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel, UN humanitarians on Tuesday reiterated calls for the release of all hostages in Gaza, an immediate ceasefire and an aid surge to alleviate Palestinians’ suffering, as talks on a US-driven peace plan continued in Egypt.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | OCHA , UNHCR , UNICEF , UNOG , WHO , IPU
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, UNICEF, the World Health Organisation, and the International Parliamentary Union.
1
1
1
Edited News
Syria prison survivor seeks justice for the missing with UN backing.
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday warned that three and a half years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, the war in Ukraine has entered an even more dangerous and deadly stage for Ukrainian civilians, under relentless bombardment of their schools, hospitals, and shelters.