RIYADH, Saudi Arabia,
May 31, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is set to become the largest consistent
donor to Yemen during the upcoming
High-Level Pledging Event for the Humanitarian Crisis in
Yemen on Tuesday, 2 June 2020. The Pledging Event for the United
Nation's Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan is being hosted virtually
by the Kingdom in partnership with the United Nations. A total of
USD 2.3 billion is being sought to
cover emergency requirements in Yemen across multiple humanitarian sectors,
including medical, food and shelter assistance.
The event is the first virtual initiative of its kind to be held
on this scale, and will be attended by top Saudi Arabian and United
Nations officials. Among the high-level attendees will be His Royal
Highness Faisal Bin Farhan, Saudi
Arabia's Minister of Foreign Affairs, António Guterres,
Secretary-General of the United Nations, Dr. Abdullah Al Rabeeah, Advisor – Royal Court and Supervisor General of King
Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief), and Mr.
Mark Lowcock,
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency
Relief Coordinator (OCHA). The event will take place from
8:00-13:40 EDT (New York).
Saudi Arabia hopes to attract
significant pledges to finance the 2020 Emergency Humanitarian
Response Plan to bring relief to the estimated 24.3 million people
in Yemen who are currently in
acute need. The United Nations has taken the unusual step of
extending the implementation period of the existing plan from this
June until the end of December 2020
in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Yemen has been the number one
humanitarian priority for Saudi
Arabia and KSrelief," said Dr. Abdullah Al Rabeeah, Supervisor General of
KSrelief. "COVID-19 has created new needs there, but is just the
latest challenge in an already deteriorating situation.
Yemen needs a lot of help, not
least because of its weak health system. Saudi Arabia, through its strong partnership
with the United Nations organizations, is determined to continue to
help the Yemeni people, as it has consistently done since
2015."
KSrelief provides impartial and independent assistance to
Yemen and other countries. To
date, 60-70% of the Kingdom's Yemen assistance has been channeled through
the United Nations, always in line with the basic humanitarian
principles of impartially and independence from economic,
political, military or religious considerations.
The Kingdom's ongoing assistance to Yemen is in line with its long history of
commitment towards meeting the needs of the country; over the last
5 years, Saudi Arabia has provided
nearly USD 17 billion in aid to
Yemen, including humanitarian and
development aid, support to the Central Bank of Yemen and comprehensive assistance to Yemenis
living in the Kingdom. In 2019, Saudi
Arabia was the top donor country to Yemen, with contributions totaling
USD 1.25 billion, or 31.1% of the
total amount sought by the United Nations. Since May of 2015,
KSrelief and 88 humanitarian partners have implemented 474 projects
across 12 humanitarian sectors, aid totaling USD 3 billion.
On COVID-19, Saudi Arabia has
established a strategic plan to help countries and regions most in
need. Yemen has one of the most
fragile healthcare systems on the planet, and at the start of the
pandemic, the Ministry of Health of Yemen received immediate support from the
Kingdom through capacity-building, funding, and the provision of
protective equipment and diagnostic supplies. KSrelief has also
worked with many international NGOs and non-UN partners to prevent
the global spread of the pandemic.
Both KSrelief and the United Nations are hopeful that this
important event will result in pledges from donor countries to
provide the urgent funding that is so crucial to alleviating the
suffering of all Yemenis in need.
This is distributed by Qorvis Communications on behalf of the
King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre. Additional
information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, DC.
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SOURCE The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre