The scarcity of funding and the obstacles of Houthi closes international aid programs in Yemen
English - Wednesday 08 April 2020 الساعة 08:42 pm
Aden, Newsyemen, Special Report:
The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator announced on Monday that it is about to reduce or close 31 programs in Yemen during the month of April unless it receives funding urgently.
"31 of the 41 major humanitarian programs of the United Nations will be reduced or closed during April, unless funding is received urgently," Liz Grande, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, said in a statement.
According to the statement, Yemen is still the worst humanitarian disaster in the world ... nearly 80 percent of the population needs some form of humanitarian assistance and protection.
In its statement, the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator confirmed that about ten million people are a step away from starvation and that 7 million people are suffering from malnutrition (starvation), explaining that approximately 14 million people depend on humanitarian aid every month.
Donor countries and organizations have been calling for the cessation of their support for humanitarian programs in Yemen due to obstacles imposed by the Houthi militia - the Iranian arm in Yemen - as well as their imposition
A tax of 2% on aid projects, and new measures that enable them to control the mechanism for distributing that aid and harness a large part of it to the Houthi war effort.
The World Food Program has previously accused the Houthi militia of looting a large proportion of international relief and suspended its activities for several months in the coup areas.
David Paisley, executive director of the World Food Program, said in the middle of last year, that the Houthi militia plundered about 33% of the volume of aid provided by the program to those in need in its areas of control.
"Paisley" accused the militia of preventing WFP teams from reaching Saada Governorate, and some militia-controlled areas, to deliver aid to beneficiaries.
Paisley confirmed in the Security Council session on Yemen in mid-June 2019 that the World Food Program has funds to assist those in need in Yemen, but the Houthis are impeding its activities.
He said that 7 humanitarian aid centers in Sanaa were reviewed, and it became clear that there were targets who did not get their share, despite their signatures on the aid disbursement statements.
Paisley hinted at a phased suspension of aid, unless the militia stopped the looting of aid and diverted it to the war effort.
“They know that children die of hunger, and steal the bite from the mouths of the hungry,” Paisley said, noting that the World Food Program sent a message to militia leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, and asked him to facilitate the mission of the World Food Program, but he did not find a response.
The World Food Program of the United Nations, had threatened to stop the distribution of food in the areas controlled by the Houthi militia because of the lack of aid to the needy.
David Paisley sent a message last May to the militia leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, in which he expressed his indignation over the embezzlement of food aid and diverting its tracks in the militia's control areas.
In connection with the donor countries and relief organizations, they held a meeting in mid-February in Brussels, and suggested that their humanitarian programs in the areas of the Houthi coup control should stop, if the Houthi militia continues to impose obstacles to humanitarian action.
The coup militia was forced to cancel the tax rate, but it is still stalling in stopping its interference in distributing aid and defining humanitarian activities and projects for international organizations.
While UN and international organizations continued to operate after the newly introduced tax was raised, the United States, which is a major donor, has moved toward reducing its humanitarian assistance to Yemen.
The Washington Post said that the administration of President Donald Trump will press ahead with plans to cut a large portion of humanitarian aid to Yemen, beginning in late March.
It added, quoting US administration officials, that the move aims to push the Houthis to lift restrictions that have made it difficult for relief agencies to operate in Houthi-controlled areas.
"Although the Houthis have retracted some restrictions, such as a 2% tax on all aid, other restrictions remain in place, such as the delay in granting travel permits," US officials said.
The newspaper quoted a spokesman for the United States Agency for International Development, that the cuts in aid will occur in Houthi-controlled areas only. The newspaper added that aid workers warn that the cut in aid may be disastrous, amid fears of an outbreak of the Corona virus in Yemen.
It is reported that the United States provided more than $ 740 million last year for humanitarian operations in Yemen.
