On Wednesday, donors pledged an additional $600 million in aid to address the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, as the United Nations and other relief agencies warned that vital assistance programs would be reduced this year if more funding was not made available. Before a high-level United Nations meeting on Wednesday, hosted jointly by Sweden, Switzerland, and the European Union, only half of this year's $3.85 billion plan to respond to what the UN describes as the world's largest humanitarian crisis was funded.
Last year, a significant funding gap appeared in the aid plan for Yemen, which has been divided by a seven-year ongoing war, leading to the closure of some assistance programs, with the UN warning of an increased risk of famine. In response, more funds have been allocated this year for food programs, but this has left other sectors, such as public health and preventive care, severely underfunded.
Significant additional pledges were made on Wednesday, including $291 million from the United States, $100 million from Qatar, and $90 million from Saudi Arabia, which leads a military coalition fighting the Iran-aligned Houthi group in the Yemen conflict.
