Donors have given the equivalent of 25 US cents per day for each of the 24.3 million people in need in Yemen, about half the amount given last year, Oxfam warned today.

The dramatic cut comes despite COVID-19 heaping further challenges on a country already suffering the world’s worst humanitarian disaster.

In response to US Secretary of State Pompeo’s decision to designate the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and Specially Designated Global Terrorist, Oxfam America’s Humanitarian Policy Lead Scott Paul said: “Secretary Pompeo’s decision to designate the Houthis as a terrorist organization is a counter-productive and dangerous policy that will put innocent lives at risk. This designation will not help to resolve the conflict or provide justice for the violations and abuses committed during the war; it will only compound the crisis for millions of Yemenis fighting for their survival.

Six months ago UN Secretary General called in March for a global ceasefire tied to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are now sleepwalking towards a seventh year of war, and the people of Yemen can only surmise that the world has forgotten them.

Medical and water infrastructure in Yemen has been hit during air raids almost 200 times since the conflict escalated more than five years ago, as the country continues to battle its outbreak of COVID-19.

Thousands of people in Yemen could be dying from undetected cases of cholera because COVID-19 has overwhelmed the country’s health facilities and people are too frightened to seek treatment for fear of the virus, Oxfam said today.

The number of coronavirus cases in Yemen is likely to peak in the coming weeks while the heaviest rains are expected in August which could deepen a hidden cholera crisis.

In reaction to the reprehensible attack that killed 13 civilians, including children, in the north of Yemen yesterday, Oxfam and seven other international agencies working in Yemen strongly condemned the attack.

Reacting to the outcome of the pledging conference for Yemen, Jose Maria Vera, Oxfam International’s Executive Director, said: "Donors’ pledges to Yemen are failing to keep up with the growing need in the country". 

Recent funding gaps and other challenges in Yemen will put an additional estimated 5.5 million people in the war-torn country at risk of losing access to life-saving aid, such as food, cash and clean water this year, Oxfam and 23 international humanitarian NGOs said today, ahead of the Virtual Yemen Pledging Conference.

As the first case of coronavirus is confirmed in Yemen, Muhsin Siddiquey, Oxfam Country Director in Yemen said: “The first confirmed case of coronavirus in Yemen is a devastating blow in a country that is ill-equipped after five years of brutal conflict to contain its spread.

In reaction to the announcement by the Saudi coalition of a ceasefire in Yemen, Muhsin Siddiquey, Oxfam Yemen Country Director, said : "The announcement from the Saudi-led coalition that it will be laying down arms is a welcome move that offers Yemen a chance to avert a fresh disaster.