United Nations: UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths has warned that a lack of humanitarian funding in Yemen may undermine the current political momentum.
The renewable two-month truce that the warring parties have agreed on is already having a positive impact on the humanitarian situation, he told the Security Council in a briefing on Thursday.
However, the humanitarian operation in Yemen remains underfunded, he said.
The UN in March raised $1.3 billion in pledges out of the nearly $4.3 billion needed, he added.
The UN official said despite newly announced pledges, including $300 million from Saudi Arabia, there is a funding gap, Xinhua news agency reported.
“Funding remains the biggest challenge of the response. There’s a serious risk that core programs across sectors, including food aid, water, health care, the support for the displaced, will keep scaling down … and eventually stop if funds don’t arrive,” Griffiths said.
“Allowing the aid operation to collapse would run directly counter to the very positive momentum that I think we’re right to honour and celebrate today. And so we’re going to do all we can to work with donors from our side to help ensure that these life-saving programs survive,” he added.
–IANS