Association for Defending Victims of Terrorism – NGOs demand full address to Yemen Crisis.
We read in the statement that, lst year’s six-month UN-brokered agreement brought hope to millions of Yemenis, with a decrease of fighting, civilian casualties and conflict-related displacement.
However, although the military conflict has not intensified significantly since the formal truce lapsed in October 2022, frontlines remain active with sporadic skirmishes leading to civilian casualties. At the same time, a rapidly worsening economy, decimated public infrastructure, together with a year-on-year decline in humanitarian funding, means that the lives of ordinary Yemenis continue to be threatened.
Less than half of health facilities are currently reported to be functioning, with about 11 percent fully or partially damaged due to the conflict. Access to health facilities remains severely restricted, with approximately 42 percent of the population having to travel more than an hour to reach the nearest fully or partially functional public hospital.
Likewise, despite an increase of an estimated 280,000 out-of-school children in 2022, and a staggering 8.5 million children being in need of assistance to access schooling, the education plan was only funded at 12.2 percent. This is less than half of what it was funded in the previous year despite the deepening of needs. Such a large gap in funding will, if repeated, undoubtedly have dire consequences on the future of next generation of Yemen’s crucial workforce and Yemenis’ quest to rebuild their lives and future.
While two-thirds of the population (21.6 million people) will rely on humanitarian assistance, humanitarian actors foresee that no less than $4.3 billion is needed to make the goal of reaching the most vulnerable people into a reality. Humanitarian needs have accumulated by years of conflict and longer-term, flexible funding is needed to help address the root causes of the crisis and invest in dignified and durable solutions. Without this, millions of Yemenis risk being locked into a cycle of crisis for years to come.
At the end of statement we read, we the undersigned international and local NGOs working in Yemen urge donors to respond to these urgent needs to address Yemen’s complex, large-scale, and protracted crisis by committing to the required funding at the High-Level Pledging Event. It is time for humanitarian actors and donors to consider more strategic planning towards supporting sectors that were severely underfunded in 2022, ensuring full and equitable funding so that humanitarian investment makes the impact required for the needs of all Yemenis.
Norwegian Refugee Council, Oxfam, Qatar Charity and Save the Children are among those NGOs.
