26 April 2017
Geneva - Donor countries have pledged nearly $1.1 billion for humanitarian aid to Yemen, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at the end of a one-day pledging conference on Tuesday. The United Nations has said it needs $2.1 billion this year to avert famine in Yemen, where a child dies every 10 minutes of hunger and disease. Earlier, United Nations and Russian officials warned against an attack by coalition forces on the rebel-held Yemeni port of Hodeidah, the aid lifeline for a country where millions of people are in desperate need of food.

Antonio Guterres said the UN needs massive funds to avert famine in Yemen and warring parties there must ensure humanitarian aid can be delivered, as he opened a donor conference in Geneva. A UN appeal for $2.1 billion this year for Yemen, where Guterres said a child under the age of five dies of preventable causes every 10 minutes, is only 15 per cent covered. Two years of conflict between rebels and the Arab coalition that carries out air strikes almost daily have killed at least 10,000 people in Yemen, and hunger and disease are rife there.

© Oman Daily Observer 2017