Countries congregate to lend helping hand

UN set to carry out projects in Yemen The UN will carry out projects worth $1.5 billion in Yemen during the transitional stage between 2012 and 2014, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Yemen, Ismail Ould Sheikh Ahmed, stated on Sunday. Ahmed added that these contributions will link between humanitarian, development and early response aid with sustainable livelihoods in order to address the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.
Praising the outcome of the donors meeting for Yemen held September 4 and September 5 in Riyadh, Ahmed said that the meeting showed commitment from the international community to aid and support Yemen in being able to meet current developments and humanitarian challenges as well as ensure the implementation of the Gulf initiative.
Ismail Ould Sheikh Ahmed also believed that the donors' speech was clear and obvious that Yemen deserves urgent support to ensure a successful and smooth transition to a stable state and many donors understood the severe situation in Yemen and that its humanitarian crisis requires everyone's support to tackle it.
The UN and non-governmental organisations in Yemen have appealed to the international community to provide aid to fulfil the immediate needs of the millions who suffer from the humanitarian crisis. They considered the emergency interventions as vital. According to UN estimates, Yemen needs $584.5 million for humanitarian operations this year, while the amount the aid agencies have received so far is $272.5 million.
Moreover, a press release issued by the UN office in Sana'a said that the UN organisations managed to reach 2.2 million people of the total of 6 million people targeted by aid agencies to be provided with assistance this year, including 60,000 children who suffer from acute malnutrition.
The UN organisations have provided shelter to 271,000 people, safe water to 474,000 people and assistances to about 272,000 refugees and immigrants who have fled to Yemen.
The UN is currently supporting the efforts of the National Reconciliation Government to implement the transition stage and basic objectives set forth in the executive mechanism of the GCC initiative, including the preparations for the coming parliamentary elections and the expected referendum on the constitutional amendments.
The UN and Secretary General Special Adviser, Jamal bin Omar, recognises that the implementation of the national dialogue will have a significant impact on the sustainability of the power transition and move forward towards stability — therefore the required aid would be directed to ensure holding a successful national dialogue including all parties.
The Yemeni Interior Minister announced that more than 1000 African refugees —mostly Somalis — arrived at the country's southern shores last week.
Yemen is suffering an economic hardship marked by political and security problems testing the GCC power transfer deal. And the large numbers of African refugees coming to the country is making the conditions even harder to be dealt with by the government. Yemen earlier revealed that it needs $14 billion for basic projects to be carried out during the two years transition period stated in the GCC deal, while the government has only $3 billion of them.
The latest donors conference in Riyadh granted the government financial aids of $6.4 billion only, the rest is aimed to be collected in another donors conference planned to be held in New York by the end of this month.