Every month, the lives of eight million Yemenis are improving as a result of funds received from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, said Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (OCHA) Mark Lowcock Sunday.
He expressed gratitude for the commitment by Saudi-led Arab coalition states in easing the suffering of Yemeni people since 2014.
In a joint press conference that was held with Supervisor General of King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) Dr. Abdullah al-Rabeeah in Riyadh, Lowcock was besieged by media criticism of the role of UN agencies in Yemen.
They are accused of being lenient with the Iran-backed Houthi militias and not pressuring them to deliver humanitarian aid to the people.
Lowcock tried to avoid answering their questions and criticism by thanking Saudi Arabia, the UAE and all of donors that have responded to UN appeals this year.
“You are saving millions of lives and reducing a lot of suffering in Yemen even though the situation remains extremely difficult.”
“The money provided by all of our donors is spent all over Yemen on the basis of where the needs are greater, both in the Houthi-controlled areas and in the government areas,” Lowcock noted.
In response to a question by Asharq Al-Awsat, he stressed that the UN is present in the temporary capital Aden and that it has had offices and employees there since 2017.
“I have just returned from Aden, and during my last visit to the city, I met with many UN experts and staff, who have been working for a year now at UN offices there.”
“This time, however, I met twice the number of UN staff because we doubled our capacity in Aden," he revealed.
Meanwhile, Arab coalition countries rejected the exploitation of the humanitarian situation in Yemen to achieve political, military or other goals.
Rabeeah stressed during the press conference the coalition’s support for facilitating the entry of humanitarian aid, including the opening of the port of Jizan and designated land crossings, to provide assistance to all Yemenis.
“We call on the UN and the international community to end Houthi violations against humanitarian aid, including monitoring of their activities at Hodeidah port and ensuring that all profits and money are deposited directly in the Central Bank of Aden, from where the funds can be used to directly benefit the people.”
In a direct criticism of their slow progress on the ground, he urged UN agencies to pick up the pace of their relief efforts in Yemen.
KSRelief called on them to implement the projects outlined in the Humanitarian Response Plan 2018, which was funded by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and other countries, said Rabeeah.
“KSRelief also looks forward to the participation and cooperation of all international and local organizations to help provide aid access to every Yemeni in need and prevent the militias from further exploiting and interfering with humanitarian assistance,” he stressed.
