|
Donors pledge US$2 milliard to scale up aid shipments to Yemen
04.04.2018 19:56 "Agro Perspectiva" (Kyiv) —
As of yesterday, while speaking after opening a pledging conference for Yemen, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said an appeal that had raised some US$2 milliard to help millions of people in Yemen was a «remarkable success of international solidarity» for this country war-weary people, but aid alone will not provide a solution to the conflict, UN Radio reports.
As to the report, the UN Chief said, «we need a serious political process to lead to a political solution because there was never a humanitarian solution for any humanitarian crisis. The solution has always been political and in Yemen what we need is a political solution for these pledging conferences not to be repeated in the future».
Describing the situation in Yemen as «catastrophic,» where every 10 minutes, a child under five dies of preventable causes, the Secretary-General stressed that while humanitarian resources are very important, they are not enough; it is essential, he said, that they reach the people in need. «And for that, we need unrestricted access into Yemen; we need unrestricted access everywhere inside [the country].»
As to the report, this call was also made by UN aid chief Mark Lowcock, who said within the yesterday event: «We need better access across the country. We want to see Sana’a airport reopen to commercial flights, notably for humanitarian cases».
Reportedly, the event was co-chaired by the UN and the governments of Sweden and Switzerland. Pledges were made by 40 Member States and organizations, including the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), for humanitarian action within Yemen within 2018.
International pledges for nearly US$2 milliard represent almost double the amount raised within 2017 to fund humanitarian aid in the Arabian Peninsula country.
Also available:
|
| |
|
|