UN warns Yemenis could face food aid cuts after Saudi and UAE pledges fail to materialise
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have been accused of “leaving Yemenis to die” after the United Nations revealed they have paid only a fraction of the $1.2bn promised in aid to the war-torn country.
At a UN pledging conference in February, donors pledged $2.6 billion, including $1.5bn (£1.2bn) by Saudi and the UAE, but to date less than half the amount has been received.
The UN said nearly all donors have paid most or all of their 2019 pledges, while some have paid even more. But the largest donors – Yemen’s neighbours in the coalition and the biggest players in the conflict – have so far paid only a modest share of what they have promised.
According to a spokesman, Abu Dhabi has paid only $160m and Riyadh $127m.
"When money doesn't come, people die," the UN said in a statement released on Wednesday.
Saudi's announcement of funding was made to great fanfare at a press conference held in Riyadh. PR advisers to the kingdom had told the Telegraph, which was in attendance, that it hoped it would garner some much-needed good publicity.
"Saudi Arabia spends $50 billion every year on turning Yemen into a moonscape and creating millions of refugees in the process,” said Labour MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle, who sits on the Committees on Arms Controls in the Commons. “But they refuse to spend a fraction of that figure on ensuring the survivors of their air campaign and blockade don't starve to death. Some ally."
The UN is now warning that unless significant new funding is received in the coming weeks, food rations for 12 million people in the war-torn country will be reduced and at least 2.5 million malnourished children will be cut off from life-saving services.
The organisation was already forced to suspend most vaccination campaigns in May, and without new money a "staggering" 22 life-saving programs in Yemen will close in the next two months.
The Saudi government did not immediately respond to the Telegraph’s request for comment.
The conflict in Yemen began with the 2014 takeover of the capital, Sanaa, by Iran-backed Houthi Shia rebels who control much of the country's north.
A Saudi-led coalition that includes the UAE allied with Yemen's internationally recognised government has been fighting the Houthis since 2015.
Saudi’s air and sea blockade had helped create the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, leaving millions suffering from food and medical care shortages and pushing the country to the brink of famine.
Its indiscriminate bombing of schools and hospitals has left thousands dead, leading EU allies to call for an arms embargo.
"Millions of people in Yemen, who through no fault of their own are the victims of this conflict, depend on us to survive," Lisa Grande, UN humanitarian chief in Yemen, said. "All of us are ashamed by the situation. It's heart-breaking to look a family in the eye and say we have no money to help."
She said it was grateful to donors who have lived up to their promises, but said of the 34 major UN humanitarian programs in Yemen only three are funded for the entire year.
Several have been forced to close in recent weeks, Ms Grande said, and many large-scale projects designed to help destitute, hungry families have been unable to start.
Without new funds in the coming weeks, she said, 19 million people will also lose access to health care, including 1 million women who depend on the UN for reproductive health services.
In addition, Ms Grande said, clean water programs for 5 million people will have to shut down at the end of October and tens of thousands of displaced families may find themselves homeless.
