UAE provides $230 million in additional support to Yemeni people

The UAE has pledged $230 million in aid to Yemen as additional support to the Yemeni people ahead of a donor conference hosted by the Kingdom of Sweden and the Swiss Confederation in co-operation with the UN.

The support will help fund international programs that address medical, food and food security needs across the country, in keeping with the UAE’s long commitment to the Yemeni people, the Emirates News Agency reported.

The UAE also said that they would address needs as outlined in the UN Humanitarian Response Plan.

Reem bint Ibrahim al-Hashemi, the UAE’s minister of state for international co-operation, said : “Since 2015, the United Arab Emirates has provided aid in excess of US$6 billion.”

She added : “with a major focus on supporting the humanitarian situation, as well as providing public services to ensure continuity of education in schools, medical programs and vital services such as energy and transportation”.

She continued : “The United Arab Emirates was also one of the largest international contributors to supporting Yemen in the face of the Cofed-19 pandemic.”

The Minister of State for International Cooperation in the UAE explained : “Since the start of the pandemic, the United Arab Emirates has sent 122 tons of medical supplies to Yemen to reinforce the efforts of about 122,000 health care workers to contain the HIV/AIDS-19 virus, in addition to providing food and nutritional supplements that promote health through the World Food Program, in addition to supporting other sectors such as education, health and water.”

The UAE is conducting a continuous review of the humanitarian situation in Yemen in co-ordination with international organizations, with health, food and malnutrition security indicators in particular, she said. The latest commitment will help meet the food needs of 6 million Yemenis, including 1 million children, and reduce the high risk of food security in some areas of Yemen.

Since the end of their military commitment to Yemen, the UAE has continued to play their supporting role in achieving a comprehensive political solution and to support the efforts of the UN special envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffith, she said.

She added : “While this donation comes at a critical moment for Yemen, it cannot replace the broader efforts to reach a political solution for the benefit of the Yemeni people, who have suffered for too long from the humanitarian situation.”

She continued : “The international community must work to intensify efforts to achieve a sustainable solution for Yemen”.

Reem bint Ibrahim al-Hashemi reiterated the UAE’s welcome of the implementation of the Riyadh Agreement between the internationally recognized Legitimate Government of Yemen and the Southern Transitional Council. She said she hopes the agreement will be a step towards reaching a political solution and accelerating the end of the Yemeni crisis.

She added that, regardless of the current challenges that impede peace efforts in Yemen resulting from ongoing violations by Houthi militias, they are responsible for the deterioration of the situation in the country since its 2014 coup.