Saudi Arabia, UAE unveil $500 mln joint humanitarian initiative for Yemen

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSRelief) and Emirates Red Crescent on Tuesday announced a joint $500 million aid initiative to alleviate a food crisis in Yemen. The move will benefit 10 to 12 million Yemenis, the Center for International Communication said in a statement.

Announcing the initiative at a joint press conference in Riyadh, Dr Abdullah Al Rabeeah, General Supervisor of KSRelief and a Royal Court Advisor, said, “Saudi Arabia and UAE together seek to alleviate the suffering of Yemenis.”

In a statement, Dr Al Rabeeah added: “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are launching the ‘Imdad’ initiative to provide $500 million of additional support to help fulfill the most pressing humanitarian needs in the food and nutrition sectors through the United Nations, and international, regional and local organizations.”

“The initiative will serve 10-12 million Yemenis affected by the current situation, and will see each country provide half of the total amount aforementioned. The Kingdom and UAE have decided to respond to the humanitarian situation in Yemen, and contribute again to end the shortage of food needs in the country. The two countries will help in alleviating the suffering of our brothers, the Yemeni people, and ensure they gain access to food and nutrition for children in all regions and governorates of Yemen.”

The amount is in addition to the total $18 billion the coalition countries contributed towards humanitarian aid for Yemen since March 2015.