The UN aid chief, Mark Lowcock, urged the Middle Eastern nations to step up as the global body aims to avert the world’s largest “man-made” famine in Yemen. The UN aims to raise more than $3.5 billion for humanitarian activities in the war-torn country for this year.
The international agency described the situation in Yemen as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, with as many as eighty percent of the population in need of necessities. The aid chief further warned that if the agency fails to raise the money at the virtual conference on Monday, the world will witness the worst famine it has ever seen.
More:
- Yemen: UN Warns of New Humanitarian Crisis Amid COVID-19 Fears
- UN, Saudi Arabia Seek To Raise $2.41bn For War-Torn Yemen
Previously in 2018 and 2019, the United Nations prevented the crisis in Yemen, primarily because of the well-funded aid appeal, including the large donations from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait.
Last year, the UN received just over half of the $3.5 billion it needed for humanitarian activities in the war-torn nation. Lowcock said that the lack of funds was because of the smaller contributions by the gulf countries. He further urged the Middle Eastern countries to contribute generously for this year.
While talking to the news reporters, he said that the gulf nations have an important role to play in the situation and added that the contributions from these countries saved millions of lives. In 2015, the Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen to back the government forces battling the Iran-backed rebellion groups.
Meanwhile, the international agencies are trying to resume the peace talks to end the years-long conflict that has left hundreds of thousands of people displaced and dead. Besides, experts suggest that with the coronavirus outbreak, the situation has worsened complemented by a beleaguered economy.
