UN urges GCC to further aid Yemen

United Nations agencies stationed in Yemen urged the country’s Arab Gulf neighbors to extend financial assistance to the impoverished nation at a recent conference and exhibition in Dubai.

Ahmed al-Ansi, Yemen’s health minister, attended the event and pointed out that the state of his country has gravely deteriorated

"The humanitarian situation now is becoming very dangerous for the Yemeni people, at every level. The recent events that have taken place have, of course, had an economic impact on the Yemeni people, and this in turn has had an impact on various aspects of life, such as health, the environment, socially - all aspects of life," said Ahmed al-Ansi.

Yemenis have been protesting against President Ali Abdullah Saleh for nearly a year, demanding major reforms in the country, including relinquishing his 33-year hold on power in the country.

Aside from economic and political strife, the humanitarian crisis in the country has escalated and mass water, food and electricity shortages threaten the population.

Yemen has also been playing host to refugees, especially from Somalia, but officials in the country worry that it is losing the capacity care for additional refugees.

"There are more than a quarter of a million refugees and asylum seekers who are coming to Yemen as I speak. There are hundreds of people who every day cross the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Aden to come to Yemen. Yemen has shown a lot of hospitality to refugees from the Horn of Africa, but Yemen now itself does not have the capacity even to feed its own people," said the UNHCR's Naveed Hussain.

Donations have poured into the country, mostly from Western countries, but aid agencies are pushing for the Gulf to contribute as well.

Speaker:

Ahmed al-Ansi - Yemen health minister
Naveed Hussein - UNHCR representative