UK Announces £139 Million in Aid for Yemen, Feeding Over 850,000 People and Treating Malnourished Children
The UK has pledged to increase aid funding to Yemen, providing £139 million ($175 million) to help feed over 850,000 people in the war-torn country.
The aid, which will be delivered through organizations like the World Food Programme and Unicef, aims to treat 700,000 malnourished children.
This announcement follows the EU's commitment of $125 million for NGOs and UN agencies working in Yemen, where more than half the population requires aid due to nine years of conflict.
Over 200 aid organizations have urged for additional humanitarian funds to address a $2.3-billion shortfall in Yemen.
In a meeting with Yemen's former ambassador to the US, Bin Mubarak, British Prime Minister Cameron discussed Houthi rebel attacks on international shipping, which are hindering aid delivery to northern Yemen and worsening the humanitarian crisis.
British and US forces have been conducting joint strikes since January to stop these raids.
The attacks, which started in November, have affected more than half of British exporters, according to a report from the British Chambers of Commerce.
Yemen has been embroiled in conflict since 2014 due to a coup by the Iran-supported Houthi rebels, leading to a Saudi-led military intervention the following year.
The conflict has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths from both direct fighting and indirect causes such as food shortages.
A UN-brokered ceasefire was implemented in 2022, but threats including food insecurity and cholera continue to pose risks in the region.