Stephen O'Brien, UN under-secretary general for the coordination of humanitarian affairs, warned the international community in the port city of Aden yesterday that if the situation was left unattended, it would become increasingly difficult for aid workers to provide assistance.
He noted that only 18% of the $1.6bn humanitarian appeal for Yemen was currently funded and said relief efforts were at risk of being “hampered” due to a sharp reduction in resources.
“Donors have not responded with the funding that is needed to cover the enormous humanitarian needs in the country,” O’Brien continued.
“Donors need to show their solidarity with the Yemeni people and provide us with timely funding to cover the enormous needs in the whole country and notably cities like Aden, that have suffered so badly during the last four months.”
About 7 million people have received some form of assistance from April to July throughout all of Yemen, the UN said. But an estimated 21 million people, or 80% of the population, currently need some form of live-saving assistance.
