Aid agencies need US$4.3billion to help 17.3 million people in Yemen as crisis deteriorates

May 2, 2022
Posted by: humanitarianweb
Category: Humanitarian News

The Humanitarian Country Team in Yemen today released the 2022 Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP), seeking nearly $4.3 billion to reverse a steady deterioration of the humanitarian situation. The 2022 HRP targets 17.3 million out of the 23.4 million people in need of lifesaving humanitarian assistance and protection services.

“The worsening humanitarian crisis in Yemen is a reality that we need to urgently address,” said Mr.
David Gressly, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen. “The numbers this year are staggering. Over 23 million people – or almost three-quarters of Yemen’s population – now need assistance. That is an increase of almost three million people from 2021. Nearly 13 million people are already facing acute levels of need.”

Escalating conflict in 2021 resulted in untold suffering and further disruption of public services, pushing humanitarian needs higher. Yemen’s collapsing economy – itself a product of the conflict – exacerbated vulnerabilities among poor families. A record 19 million people are projected to require food assistance in the second half of the year, with the most extreme hunger looming for 161,000 of them. Children continue to suffer horribly, with 2.2 million acutely malnourished, including more than half a million at severe levels. Limited access to critical services continues to worsen the conditions of the most vulnerable groups, including women and children.

“This is also a moment of hope for Yemen. The UN-led truce is a vital opportunity for aid agencies to scale up life-saving assistance and to reach more people in acute need quickly, including in areas where access was limited due to armed conflict and insecurity,” said Mr. Gressly. “For aid agencies to immediately step up efforts, we count on sufficient donor funding. Otherwise, the aid operation will collapse despite the positive momentum we are seeing in Yemen today.”

At a high-level fund-raising event for Yemen held in March this year, donors pledged $1.3 billion – 30 per cent of the total requirement for the 2022 HRP. Another $300 million has been pledged since then. However, the response remains severely underfunded, leaving aid agencies with limited resources at a time when two-thirds of major UN programmes in Yemen were forced to scale back or close due to underfunding. “I urge all donors to fund the appeal fully and commit to disbursing funds quickly,” said Mr. Gressly.

After more than seven years of conflict, millions of people in Yemen have suffered the compounded effects of the war, ongoing economic crisis and disrupted public services. More than 4.3 million people have fled their homes since 2015, making this the fourth largest internal displacement crisis on the planet. Preventable diseases and natural hazards continue to place additional burdens on people.