The UN demanded $4.3 billion on Wednesday to help 17 million people this year in Yemen, the poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula, at war since 2014.
After more than seven years of war between the Houthi rebels and the Saudi-backed government, more than 23 million people face famine, disease or other life-threatening dangers, up 13% from 2021, according to the United Nations.
Its Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, called on donors to unlock “nearly $4.3 billion” to help 17.2 million people.
According to the UN, around 161,000 Yemenis will be in a situation of “catastrophic food insecurity, a foretaste of what may happen to another 7.1 million people who are only one step away from this last stage of a humanitarian crisis.”
Nearly three-quarters of the population will need humanitarian assistance in 2022, Griffiths said at a press conference, noting that the situation in Yemen “is among the worst in the world.”
Yemen's basic services and economy are collapsing, and the conflict in Ukraine has made raw materials, including wheat, more expensive globally. According to Griffiths, a third of the wheat used in Yemen comes from Russia and Ukraine.
Without rapid liquidity injections for humanitarian organizations, nearly 4 million people will not have clean drinking water.
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