São Paulo – The United Nations (UN) said on Tuesday (16) that it needs US$ 702 million to help 7.7 million people in Yemen, according to a statement posted on the institution’s Brazilian website. The funds, according to the UN, are needed to provide food, clean water, medical care and other services.
According to the organisation, after two years of instability, the country is "close to a collapse" in basic services. Yemen was one of the countries directly affected by the Arab Spring, in 2011. Civil uprisings and confrontations resulted in the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh at the beginning of last year, after more than three decades in power.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) reported that so far it has only received 38% of the funding provided for the Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan in 2013, and that relief efforts in the country are being affected.
Also on Tuesday, the World Food Programme (WFP) reported that 12,000 Somali refugees are receiving monthly cash assistance and food in neighbouring Ethiopia.
“The cash allows refugees to have more control in diversifying their diets, and they can buy milk, vegetables or pasta directly from the local market,” said Abdou Dieng, Country Director for WFP Ethiopia.
Under the program, refugees from Sheddar camp, close to Jijiga, the capital of Ethiopia’s Somali region, in the east of the country, received 13.9 pounds of food each month and 100 Ethiopians birres per person, equivalent to US$ 5.30.The WFP also reported that over 13,000 refugees will start receiving money in the same region in October.
The actions are part of an initiative carried out jointly by the WFP, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Ethiopian government and the European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection. The latter contributed US$ 1.3 million for the pilot project running until December.
Syrian Heritage
Still in the scope of the UN, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has condemned the violence and vandalism to Syrian monuments considered World Heritage Sites, a title granted by the organisation.
According to UN Radio, the agency’s director general, Irina Bokova, mentioned the Crac des Chevaliers, in Syria, two castles built between the 11th and 13th Centuries, during the Crusades. She presented photographs showing damage to the site.
The director called for an end to the aggression and for the parties involved in civil conflict in Syria to protect the historical heritage of the country. She pointed out that the destruction of these sites, a "legacy for future generations, serves no purpose except that of deepening hatred and despair". According to the UN, the fighting in Syria, which started in March 2011, has killed at least 100,000 people.
*Translated by Mark Ament