OXFAM: In Yemen, Donors Give less than 0.12$ to Each in Need
Donors have given the equivalent of 12 US cents (150 Yemeni Riyals) per day for each of the 24.3 million people in need in Yemen, about half the amount given last year. Oxfam said, less than two weeks since world leaders warned, that Yemen once again stands at the brink of famine.
In Yemen, 15 cents would buy 200 grams of kidney beans, or three eggs, or 200 millilitres of cooking oil, according to the latest available market data, from July. In 2019 donors gave the equivalent of 46 cents per person each day.
Muhsin Siddiquey, Oxfam’s Yemen Country Director, said: “The UK should stop cashing in on this appalling humanitarian crisis and instead put people’s lives above arms manufacturers’ profit. The Yemenis who’ve had to flee their homes, go without food and clean water, and endure outbreaks of disease need a nationwide ceasefire and inclusive peace talks to end to this war so they can rebuild their lives.”
“Yemenis had already suffered the hardships of more than five years of conflict before the pandemic wreaked further havoc, leaving them acutely vulnerable to disease and hunger. The international community urgently needs to step up funding for Yemen as well as honouring the pledges already made so that people can get the lifesaving aid they need.”
In real terms, the impact of the cut in aid is likely to be even greater than it appears because a depreciation in the Yemeni Rial has pushed up prices beyond the reach of millions. The price of flour has risen 22 per cent in the last year, onions by 35 per cent and sugar by 48 per cent.
Source: Agencies