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Monday, January 17, 2011

The humanitarian aid budget to Yemen will increase to 15 million euro

On January 15th, 2011, the European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response , Kristalina Georgieva, announced an increase of EU humanitarian aid to Yemen, which amounts to 15 million euro. The country knows pressing humanitarian needs caused by internal conflict and the influx of refugees from the Horn of Africa. This announcement of the European Commissioner follows its joint visit to Yemen with Antonio Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, who gathered with high-level government officials, representatives of the international community and the Houthi armed movement.During her trip to Yemen, Commissioner Georgieva said that EU intensifies its efforts to help Yemen deal with an increasingly complex humanitarian crisis. Last year’s humanitarian aid budget of 10 million EUR will be increased to 15 million EUR. The country generously hosts a large refugee population, coming mainly from conflict-ridden Somalia. But there also hundreds of thousands of Yemeni who are internally displaced by the conflict in the North, and who are also in dire need of assistance. For EU, Yemen is not a forgotten crisis. Commissioner Georgieva called upon the international community to join the EU in addressing these humanitarian needs. She also called on Yemeni authorities and the northern armed movements to facilitate humanitarian access and delivery of aid to all Yemeni people in need.

The European financial assistance will continue to be directed at providing food, shelter, access to safe drinking water, latrines and showers, health services, protection and solid waste management, as well as essential household items (blankets, kitchen sets) to internally displaced persons and refugees in Yemen.

As part of its strengthened support, today Commissioner Georgieva opened a humanitarian office in Yemen, which will work with humanitarian organisations to facilitate the assessment of needs, to monitor the delivery and impact of aid, and to improve the coordination of international humanitarian assistance.

Background

Yemen continues to face political instability due to internal conflicts. The number of internally displaced persons in Yemen's Northern Governorates is estimated at over 340,000. Parts of Southern Yemen are also volatile, as a result of violent demonstrations and attacks against security forces. In addition, the instability in the Horn of Africa, particularly in Somalia, has resulted in an increasing flow of persons landing on Yemen's shores and a growing number of refugees and asylum seekers. It is estimated that 174,000 people have arrived - in Yemen from Somalia and other countries of the Horn of Africa, and the stream continues. Poverty, instability and depletion of the resources of host communities mean that many IDPs and refugees have few opportunities to make a living. The most vulnerable among them depend almost entirely on international humanitarian aid.

Source  European Commission - DG ECHO

More information  Press room - European Commission

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