ALBAWABA - A joint statement by 188 humanitarian organizations, including several UN agencies, warned that more than 18.2 million people are in dire need of urgent aid.
After more than 9 years of war, aid groups appealed for humanitarian funds to bridge at least $2.3 billion to cover the shortfall in assistance for Yemen, considered the poorest country in the region, while warning of catastrophic consequences.
Their call came the day before a high-level EU conference in Brussels to address the aid package for Yemen, which is experiencing one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters.
The EU meeting released a statement saying that "“Inaction would have catastrophic consequences for the lives of Yemeni women, children and men,".
"The humanitarian community appeals to donors to urgently address existing funding gaps, and provide sustainable support to enhance resilience and reduce aid dependency," the EU statement continued.
Yemen has been in turmoil since the Houthis took over the capital Sanaa in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led military intervention in support of the government the following year.
According to the United Nations, hundreds of thousands of people have perished in combat or as a result of indirect factors such as a shortage of food. Hostilities reduced significantly in April 2022, when a six-month UN-brokered truce went into force, and have stayed low ever since.
However, only $435 million of the $2.7 billion required for Yemen's 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan has been raised, according to humanitarian organizations, which warn of hazards including as food insecurity, cholera, and explosive ordnance.
"Underfunding poses a challenge to the continuity of humanitarian programming, causing delays, reductions and suspensions of lifesaving assistance programs. These challenges directly affect the lives of millions who depend on humanitarian assistance and protection services for survival," the aid groups stated.
