Minister Flanagan and MoS McHugh announce 2 million in funding for Yemen

The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Charlie Flanagan TD, and the Minister of State for the Diaspora and International Development, Joe McHugh TD, today announced that Ireland will provide a further €2 million in humanitarian funding to meet urgent needs in Yemen resulting from a civil war that has intensified since March 2015.

Announcing the additional funding today, Minister Flanagan:

“I have been monitoring the situation in Yemen with growing concern.  The number of people now in need in Yemen exceeds those in either Iraq or Syria.  Almost 19 million Yemenis, 70% of the population, urgently require humanitarian support. More than 14 million people are living without access to adequate food, safe water and sanitation, and over 3 million people have been forced to flee their homes as a result of this protracted conflict.  Ireland’s donation of €2 million today brings our total humanitarian funding for those affected by the conflict to over €4 million since the beginning of 2016.

Minister Flanagan added:

“Recent efforts to broker a peace agreement appear to have stalled.  The only way to end the suffering of the Yemeni people is through a resolution to this conflict.  I commend the efforts of UN Special Envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed and his team, who continue efforts to bring conflicting parties to the negotiating table.  I urge those with influence in the region to convince parties that a peace agreement is in the best interests of all, and the only way forward. 

“This conflict is a reflection of wider tensions in the region, and a peace agreement in Yemen would go some way towards greater regional stability.”

Minister Flanagan warns Yemen is at risk of becoming a failed state

Referring to his recent visit to the Gulf region, Minister Flanagan stated:

“I recently travelled to the Gulf, and met with the UAE Minister for Foreign Affairs, Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and with the Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Dr Nizar bin Obaid Madani.  I expressed my concern at the appalling humanitarian situation in Yemen, as well as my concern about military attacks that directly affect civilians.

“Before this conflict began, Yemen was already the poorest country in the Gulf region.  It is clearly at risk of becoming a failed state, with a generation of children who are growing up malnourished and without education.  This additional funding today will go some way towards assisting those at the frontline of this forgotten crisis, and I will continue to advocate at every opportunity for a peace agreement, which is the only way to bring the suffering of the Yemeni people to an end.”

Minister McHugh added:

“Ongoing conflict is devastating Yemen. The humanitarian situation is dire, resulting in levels of need that are difficult to comprehend. Ireland is committed to providing humanitarian assistance to the most severe humanitarian crises, including those termed as “forgotten crises”, which do not always reach the headlines. Ireland’s additional support to Yemen will be delivered through the UN’s Humanitarian Fund for Yemen, to which we are now the sixth largest donor. This fund supports local coordination efforts by providing funding to the best placed local and international partners to deliver life-saving assistance to those in need. The UN informed us last week that rates of new cholera cases have reduced by 50% over the last year as a direct result of the UN work which this funding supports.”

ENDS

Press Office

3 January 2017

Notes to the editor:

• This funding of €2 million brings Ireland’s total humanitarian assistance in support of the people of Yemen to over €4 million since the beginning of 2016, in addition to almost €2 million in 2015.  Funding to Yemen is channelled through UN, Red Cross and trusted NGO partners who are present on the ground.

• Irish Aid provided €1,850,000 to Yemen in 2015 (€1 million to the UN Humanitarian Pooled Fund in Yemen; €750,000 to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Yemen; and €100,000 to Oxfam Ireland), and €2,100,000 in 2016 (to the UN Humanitarian Pooled Fund in Yemen, and to Goal).  Including the funding announced today, this brings the total Irish humanitarian response to the Yemen situation since 2015 to €5,950,000.