UN Refugee Agency Says Lacking $295Mln In Funding For Humanitarian Aid To People In Yemen

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Monday that the agency has been dealing with a significant shortfall in funding of up to $295 million, which has crippled its efforts and resources to address the crisis in Yemen

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th February, 2023) The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Monday that the agency has been dealing with a significant shortfall in funding of up to $295 million, which has crippled its efforts and resources to address the crisis in Yemen.

"Yemen remains one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, with 4.5 million people internally displaced and more than two-thirds of the population living below the poverty line. Despite their hardships, Yemeni communities are over-stretched and yet they shelter some 100,000 refugees and asylum seekers from other war-torn countries. UNHCR is the only international agency addressing their protection and humanitarian needs," the UNHCR said in a statement.

In addition, the agency estimated that up to 21.6 million people in Yemen, which is about 75% of the population, will require humanitarian assistance in 2023.

"So far this year, UNHCR has received just 8 per cent of the US$320 million it requires for its work in Yemen in 2023," the agency emphasized.

Yemen has been gripped by an internal conflict between the government forces and the Houthi rebels since 2014. The situation was exacerbated in March 2015, when the Saudi-led Arab alliance, working in cooperation with the internationally-recognized Yemeni government, began conducting air, land and sea operations against the Houthis. The latter have retaliated by attacking Saudi forces and firing missiles into Saudi Arabia.