UAE provided over $6bn in assistance to Yemen since 2015, pledges another $230m

The UAE on Friday committed $230m in aid to Yemen, ahead of the United Nations Pledging Conference co-hosted between Switzerland and Sweden.

State-run news agency WAM added that the amount will help fund international programmes that meet the medical, nutritional, and food security needs of the country. It will work with the stakeholders and address the needs as set forward by the UN Humanitarian Response Plan.

Since 2015, the UAE has reportedly provided over $6bn in assistance to Yemen, which has focused mainly on supporting humanitarian causes, as well as providing for public services to ensure continuity of education in schools, medical programmes, and vital services such as energy and transportation.

The UAE has also been a significant contributor to Yemen’s Covid-19 response. “Over the course of the pandemic, the UAE has sent 122 tonnes of medical supplies to Yemen to boost the efforts of some 122,000 healthcare workers to contain Covid-19, as well as provided health-enhancing food and supplements through the World Food Programme, and support to other sectors such as education, health, and water,” said Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashemy, Minister of State for International Cooperation.

Al Hashemy noted that the UAE is conducting an ongoing review of the humanitarian situation in Yemen in coordination with international organisations, in particular monitoring indicators of health, food security, and malnutrition. This latest commitment of funds will meet the food needs of 6 million Yemenis, including 1 million children, in response to the food security risks observed in some areas of Yemen.

“The UAE acknowledges recent international efforts to ensure that critical aid is not obstructed from reaching the most vulnerable groups in society, specifically women and children,” said Al Hashemy. “We look forward to working with humanitarian actors on the ground, from both the UN as well as the INGO community to ensure that aid is delivered to those that are in most need.”

The UAE has ended its military engagement in Yemen, but has continued to support a political solution and the efforts of the UN Special Envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths.

The UAE minister reiterated that the country welcomes the implementation of the Riyadh agreement between the internationally-recognised government of Yemen and the Southern Transitional Council.

There have been ongoing missile attacks on Saudi Arabia originating from Yemen. On Saturday, Saudi forces intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile attack from Yemen targeting the kingdom’s capital Riyadh.

Brigadier general Turki Al-Malki, official spokesman of the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said that the Houthis are “purposely escalating the deliberate, hostile, terrorist targeting of civilians and civilian objects using ballistic missiles and bomb-laden UAVs.”

Read: Video: Saudi forces destroy missile targeting ‘civilians’ in Riyadh, debris damages house