- UN launches $2.1bn appeal for Yemen, as 12 million on brink of famine
- Tearfund continues to respond with life-saving assistance thanks to £1m appeal
The UN has launched a $2.1bn appeal for Yemen, predicting that 12 million people are on the brink of famine. With an estimated 18.8 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, Yemen has been rated as a severe humanitarian crisis, with ever-growing needs identified across all sectors including water and sanitation, food security, and health.
It is estimated that 14.5 million people lack basic water, sanitation and hygiene, contributing to the rapid spread of disease, and placing people at immediate risk of ill health and even death.
Tearfund has been working through partners in Yemen since the 1970s and launched an emergency appeal in December 2016 as part of the Disasters’ Emergency Committee. Thanks to generous supporters, the agency has now raised over £1,100,000 and been able to help people across the country with life-saving assistance, in addition to building the resilience of affected communities.
Guy Calvert- Lee, Deputy Head of Eurasia, Latin America and the Caribbean, said:
‘The situation in Yemen remains critical. Thanks so much to the thousands of people who so generously gave to our appeal in December. Your money has helped us distribute clean water, by paying for water trucks to visit remote areas, and helped us install rainwater catchment systems, so that families can collect water within their communities.
‘We have also been distributing hygiene kits and promoting good hygiene practices to help reduce incidences of cholera and other diseases. Our partners are providing food or cash grants to the most vulnerable and malnourished households and we will continue to respond for as long as we are needed. We welcome the UN’s appeal and hope the international community will continue to rally behind the people of Yemen.’
Notes to Editors- For more information, please contact Sarah Baldwin in the Tearfund Media Team - sarah.baldwin@tearfund.org or call 07776 211518
- Information on Tearfund’s Yemen’s Appeal can be found here.
