Yemeni Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Mohammed Al Saadi announced that the World Bank’s grant of $450 million in aid to help Yemen cope with a humanitarian crisis, after nearly two years of war, will be chiefly diverted into the health, education and nutrition programs.
The World Bank announced on Tuesday a USD450 million grant for Yemen, as the nearly two-year old conflict in the country has left some 18 million people without basic food requirements and medical care.
Minister Al Saadi will be meeting with World Bank officials over the upcoming few days to discuss the means of which the aid can be brought to maximum efficiency. The Yemeni minister held high the much needed contribution which will help with rebuilding the war-torn country.
In a statement, the World Bank said the funds would go to health and nutrition projects throughout the divided country, mostly through two Yemeni development projects based in Sanaa but operating independently of the Houthis.
“It is vital that children do not miss out on critical vaccinations and nutrition, and that communities across Yemen have the income support and access to services to meet their basic needs,” said Hafez Ghanem, the World Bank’s group vice president for the Middle East and North Africa.
The amount will be split into two emergency projects designed in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the World Health Organization (WHO), a statement from the World Bank said. The projects were expected to assist 9 million of the neediest people, it added.
The Emergency Crisis Response project will receive a grant of USD250 million “to provide income opportunities for two million highly impoverished Yemenis, including women, youth and internally displaced people,” the statement said.
It will also “strengthen the Social Fund for Development (SFD) and the Public Works Project (PWP), two key Yemeni institutions that deliver services at the community level, now critical for building up the resilience of Yemenis to cope with the impacts of the ongoing conflict.”
The remaining USD200 million will go toward the Emergency Health and Nutrition Project which will “maintain the capacity of the existing health systems, while providing health and nutrition services to an estimated 7 million Yemenis,” the statement said.
Less than half of all medical facilities in Yemen are in operation, the World Bank said.
