Yemen Aid Conference Draws $1.1bln in Pledges
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – International donors have pledged $1.1 billion for war-torn Yemen, the UN secretary-general said Tuesday, appealing to the fighting sides to grant access to humanitarians and revive diplomatic efforts to end a conflict that has killed over 10,000 civilians.
Antonio Guterres ended a daylong Yemen aid conference by hailing the “clear generosity and solidarity” of governments and civil society after two years of intensified conflict in the Arab world’s poorest country, AP reported.
The conference, co-sponsored by the United Nations, Switzerland and Sweden, raised pledges for over half of the $2.1 billion sought by the UN this year in an appeal that was only 15 percent funded previously.
After years of shortfall in funding for Yemen, Guterres praised a “very encouraging signal” that the target could be met this year. He said the pledges must now be “translated into effective support” for Yemenis.
“We basically need now three things: Access, access, access,” for humanitarian actors to reach all Yemenis in need, he said.
The Saudi-led war has pushed Yemen to the brink of famine, obliterated the health system, led to human rights violations and impeded imports of crucial food, resources and medicines.
Aid groups want improved access to civilians and a halt to deadly airstrikes by the Saudi regime.
Since March 2015, Saudi Arabia and some of its Arab allies have been launching airstrikes against the Houthi Ansarullah movement in an attempt to restore power to the fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.
According to Yemen’s Legal Center of Rights and Development, the Saudi campaign has claimed the lives of over 12,000 Yemenis and left more than 20,000 others wounded.
