UN, KSA’ donation conference for Yemen collects $1.35bn
By : Marwa Mahmoud
Foreign organizations and countries donated $1.35 billion in assistance to Yemen on Tuesday during a virtual aid event organized by Saudi Arabia in collaboration with the United Nations.
At the invitation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Nations, the Virtual Donors Conference for Yemen was launched on Tuesday in the capital Riyadh, This focuses on promoting and coordinating regional and international efforts to strengthen the humanitarian situation in the country facing the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, with the recent spread of Corona virus and other diseases.
In his speech at the conference, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan revealed that the Kingdom is donating half a billion dollars to support Yemen, urging on international organizations to contribute to the donors’ conference, disclosing that his country has given more than 16 billion dollars in assistance to Yemen.
Norway has donated with EUR 175 million to assist Yemen at the donors’ conference, while the Netherlands has also provided EUR 15 million, while Sweden has supported EUR 30 million.
Britain has announced that it will send around 160 million pounds to help Yemen.
In turn, the European Union announced that the goal of the donors’ conference was to donate EUR 71 million.
From the other side, the Foreign Minister pointed out that the Houthi militias did not recognize the effort for a ceasefire. He assured on the continued commitment of the Kingdom to support the United Nations efforts to find a substantive solution in the region.
At the beginning of the event, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres opened the conference with a speech claiming that there are 24 million Yemenis in need of assistance, adding that the number of displaced people in Yemen has reached 4 million.
He further emphasized that the Yemenis have become a critical need for stability and peace, calling on all to help fund their response to the humanitarian crisis.
Gurich said that more than 30% of the humanitarian aid programs in Yemen will be closed next year, noting that half of Yemenis do not have clean drinking water, noting the acute shortage of breathing equipment and ambulances due to the outbreak of Corona virus in the region.
In addition, Yemeni Prime Minister Moein Abdul Malik said, that today’s Yemeni war is a fight for survival, suggesting that two-thirds of the people need support.
He added that all efforts to counter Corona were rejected by the militias.
It is noteworthy that the invitation of the Kingdom to hold the conference was a continuation of its humanitarian and development contribution globally and in Yemen in particular, given that the Kingdom has historically been the first donor to Yemen. In particular, in the last five years, by providing humanitarian and relief assistance and help to Yemeni refugees and development aid have been given via reconstruction and support to the Yemen Central Bank.
Donors’ Conference for Yemen 2020 confirms the pioneering role of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to support Yemen and lift the human suffering on the Yemeni people, calling on donor countries to take the initiative and support efforts aimed at the success of this major humanitarian conference by standing with Yemen and its people.
