The Qatar Fund for Development has agreed to donate 90 million dollars to Yemen, where over half the population faces severe hunger and five million people are on the brink of famine, the UN World Food Programme said Thursday in a statement.
“I have been urging the world to step up to help avoid mass starvation in Yemen, and I am grateful that the government and people of Qatar have listened,” said WFP executive director David Beasley.
“These funds could not have come at a better time as they allowed us to avoid imminent cuts in rations. The contribution has helped save millions of lives," Beasley added.
The accord follows an announcement made by Qatar's government in July.
Qatar's "generous" and desperately needed contribution has already helped WFP to bridge critical funding shortfalls and to keep supplying life-saving food and nutrition aid to some seven million people in Yemen, the UN agency said.
"We are taking big steps toward easing the life of the Yemenis. We are proud of this strategic partnership that supports food security and helps prevent famine in Yemen,” said Khalifa Al-Kuwari, QFFD director-general.
In Yemen, inadequate food consumption, one measure of hunger, is experienced by up to 46 percent of families in some areas, according to recent WFP data. It is growing each day and is largely driven by an economic downturn in the country, according to WFP.
Some 16.2 million people in Yemen - over half its population - is suffering acute hunger while five million are "one step away" from famine as a result of protracted conflict, economic decline and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, WFP underlined.
Thanks to the QFFD funds, WFP has been able to keep providing emergency food aid to nearly 13 million people, in the form of in-kind food transfers, vouchers and cash, as well as specialized nutritious foods to treat and prevent malnutrition among 500,000 pregnant and nursing mothers and children under five years of age.
Part of the QFFD donation will be used to support the WFP-led United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS), a service that plays a vital role in the wider humanitarian response Yemen's the food emergency.
WFP is also providing 3.3 million children and women with specialised nutrition support and assisting 1.6 million children through its school feeding programme, the statement said.
QFFD’s contribution will play a crucial role in achieving this goal, the statement underlined.
