UN Calls for $4.3 Billion for Emergency Aid to Yemen

The United Nations on Wednesday urged $4.3 billion to help the people of Yemen this year. Actress Angelina Jolie, who recently visited Yemen in her capacity as ambassador for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), is also committed.

The money must be collected on Wednesday at a donor conference in Geneva, Switzerland. Yemen is the poorest country in the Arabian Peninsula. A devastating war has been raging since 2014.

After more than seven years of war, more than 23 million of Yemen’s 32 million people face hunger, disease or other life-threatening dangers. According to the UN, that is an increase of 13 percent compared to 2021. Nearly three-quarters of the population will therefore need humanitarian aid in 2022. “It is this ratio that makes us say that the humanitarian situation in Yemen is among the worst in the world,” said Martin Griffith, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs.

The ongoing conflict between the government and the Houthi rebels remains the main catalyst of the hunger crisis in Yemen. Moreover, imports threaten to suffer from the war in Ukraine, which could push food prices even higher. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), an estimated 19 million people are at risk of not meeting their minimum food needs. In addition, the FAO states that 2.2 million children are severely malnourished and that half a million children are in life-threatening conditions.

In Yemen, only half of the health facilities are functioning. As a result, every two hours, a woman dies from complications during childbirth. According to the United Nations, the war has already claimed the lives of more than 377,000 people.