Al Ittihad stages dramatic comeback to defeat Al Kholood 4-3 in thriller    55 Saudi companies take part in Baghdad International Fair    10,295 illegal residents deported in a week    Nazaha arrests 158 ministry employees over corruption charges    Health minister: 40% fall in mortality rates caused by chronic diseases since 2017    Arab ministerial meeting in Cairo rejects displacement of Palestinians    Venezuela frees six detained Americans after Trump envoy meets with Maduro    Saudi Arabia's non-oil exports with Gulf countries soar 43% to SR9.4 billion in November    Fitch affirms Saudi Arabia's Credit Rating at 'A+' with a Stable Outlook    Saudi foreign minister and US Secretary of State discuss bilateral relations and regional developments    Small plane crashes into buildings in northeast Philadelphia, sparking fires and injuries    Trump imposes tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China, escalating trade tensions    Saudi Arabia mandates national attire for male secondary school students    Al Nassr signs Colombian striker Jhon Durán from Aston Villa    Al Hilal returns to winning ways with a dominant 4-0 victory over Al Okhdood    Al Ahli signs Brazilian winger Galeno from Porto on a long-term deal    Saudi composer Nasser Al-Saleh passes away at 63    Saudi drama icon Mohammed Al-Towayan passes away at 79    Singer and actress Marianne Faithfull dies at 78    Saudi Arabia launches inaugural Art Week Riyadh on April 6-13    Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan 'out of danger' after attack at home in Mumbai    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Stopping the march towards famine
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 02 - 10 - 2021

Seven years into a brutal conflict, Yemen is heavily dependent on humanitarian assistance, but the UN is intent on avoiding a repeat of the worst periods of famine and malnutrition its citizens have suffered.
On a recent visit to UN headquarters in New York, David Gressly, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, told UN News that, although emergency funds have been received, the humanitarian response remain severely underfunded.
People are desperate to tell their stories
"I recently went up the west coast of Yemen, along a narrow strip of land between the frontlines, to try to reach households that haven't really been able to access humanitarian support. People in these areas were desperate to tell their story.
Usually it's the mothers who want to tell you how they they're struggling to get access to schools for their children, access to water, to food, or to hospitals. It's a cry for help, a cry that we need to heed.
At one location, we saw a school that had been destroyed in a mortar attacks, and the area was contaminated by landmines, so crops weren't being harvested. Drinking water and medical assistance was on the other side of the frontline, and the people just felt totally squeezed from all sides.
We hear these kinds of stories over and over again and, every two or three days, I read reports of another injury from a landmine or unexploded ordinance, and it's usually a child.
Massive gaps in emergency funding
We've fortunately been able to get enough funding coming in, particularly between April and June, to stop the march towards famine, but it's fragile and it needs to be sustained.
We've received approximately $2.1 billion so far, and last week we've seen additional pledges of approximately $600 million. So, it gets us a little bit closer, but we're still short of the total requirements.
There are massive gaps in areas such as health, education, water, sanitation, protection support for the eradication of land mines and unexploded ordinance. All of those areas are around 80 to 85 percent under funded.
We've been able to reach children at risk of malnutrition, but funding needs to continue through to the end of this year into 2022. And we need to start preparing for that push for more funding in the coming year.
The COVID-19 pandemic is complicating what is already a very difficult situation. I've been to many hospitals on the ground, and I've seen how crowded they are. Because clinics are no longer functioning outside the provincial capitals there's a lack of space and the beds are full. Mothers have been turned away and told to go to another province.
So COVID-19 just adds to that burden on top of everything else, including the many other diseases that affect the Yemeni people.
There are three things we really need in Yemen right now. One is to sustain the humanitarian response and stop people from falling into famine or acute malnutrition.
The second is to take a step back and take a look why this humanitarian catastrophe exists. It's linked of course, to the war, but what the war did is destroy the economy and most jobs were lost, so people don't have the income to buy food.
Even in the midst of a conflict, we need to have a more economic approach to compliment the humanitarian assistance, and find ways to unlock the economy and help businesses to open up where possible, and generate jobs and income so that families can buy their own food.
And of course, the third element we need is a political settlement to end the conflict. However, we don't have to wait for a political settlement to start on the economic side. We can do a lot right now, if we can mobilize political will.
Eventually this will end. These things always do at some point. My biggest fear at this point in time is that this conflict will just go on and on. I've worked in other countries where this kind of situation has gone on for some 20 or 25 years, and that fundamentally transforms the country to the point where it can't go back to the social norms and development that existed before.
I took this job because I think there is real hope of making a difference, but now is the time to stop this conflict, before we lose a full generation of young people who will know nothing but war." — UN News


Clic here to read the story from its source.