Local Editor
Switzerland has promised an extra CHF4 million ($4.2 million) towards humanitarian aid for Yemen, as Swiss Vice President Ueli Maurer urged more action to end the “human disaster” there.
The Swiss pledge came at a United Nations donor conference in Geneva.
Switzerland’s overall contribution towards Yemen for 2017-2020, announced at last year’s donor conference, will rise to CHF45 million, of which CHF13 million will go to the UN’s 2018 Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan.
“It’s time to renew our solidarity with the people of Yemen and to put an end to this human disaster,” Maurer told diplomats and aid officials in Geneva on Tuesday. Switzerland is co-organizing the day-long Yemen donor conference with Sweden and the UN.
The UN says it needs $2.96 billion for the “world’s worst humanitarian crisis” to help alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people, of whom 22 million - three-quarters of the population – need humanitarian aid and protection.
The war in Yemen between a Saudi-led military coalition and Houthi revolutionaries has now entered its fourth year.
The conflict has resulted in over 10,000 deaths, displaced over 2 million and driven the poorest country on the
Arabian Peninsula to destitution and the verge of famine.
The Saudi-led military coalition, which also includes other Sunni Muslim states, has conducted thousands of air strikes targeting Houthi fighters. These strikes have often hit civilian areas, although the coalition denies targeting them deliberately. The Houthis have in turn launched rockets into Saudi territory.
"Down the drain"
Alexandre Faite, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)’s outgoing head of delegation for Yemen, said the direct effects of the war and 10,000 deaths were already “bad enough”.
But he said the indirect effects of the conflict on daily life were perhaps worse. These included the rising costs of fuel, cooking gas and health treatment, and the lack of coping mechanisms.
Less than 10% of the population have access to electricity, this speaks volumes. The same goes for water,” he told swissinfo.ch.
“Because of the indirect effects the country is going down the drain further and further, and when the effects hit the foundations and structure of the country, it's really worrying.”
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
