Yemen will receive $150 million from the World Bank in grants for health, nutrition and sanitation projects, helping to fill a financial gap in the war-torn country, according to Reuters.
“The project will provide much needed emergency funds to help deliver quality healthcare for the poorest and most vulnerable, including those living in remote areas”, stated by Tania Meyer, the World Bank’s Yemen country head.
Before the conflict broke out more than six years ago, Yemen was the poorest country in the World Bank’s Middle East and North Africa area, plunging the country into what the UN calls the world’s worst humanitarian catastrophe.
Last year, there was a significant budget deficit for help. More funding have been coming since April, when United Nations officials warned that Yemen may face the world’s worst famine in decades, but relief organizations believe the humanitarian effort still lacks the funds to last until 2021.
Yemen Emergency Human Capital Project (YEHCP) of the World Bank collaborated with United Nations agencies and Yemen’s local authorities. According to the World Bank, the additional funds would be used to provide vital health, nutrition, water, and sanitation services to 3.65 million Yemenis.
Tens of thousands of Yemenis, primarily civilians, have been murdered in the conflict, and millions more are on the verge of starvation. Around 80% of Yemen’s 24 million population is dependent on humanitarian aid to survive.
Last week, the US urged the international community, particularly Yemen’s neighbors, to follow through on commitments to increase humanitarian financing, warning that if they don’t, aid organizations will be forced to stop.
