UNITED NATIONS, United States: Top officials from several UN agencies appealed Thursday for urgent international financial support in Yemen with coronavirus spreading in the war-torn country.
鈥淲e are increasingly alarmed about the situation in Yemen,鈥� officials from the UN Humanitarian Affairs Department, UNICEF, the World Food Programme and the World Health Organization said in a joint statement.
鈥淲e are running out of time,鈥� they said.
The United Nations says COVID-19 has likely already spread throughout most of Yemen, which was already immersed in the world鈥檚 worst humanitarian crisis because of a war that shows no sign of abating.
The UN officials said they currently have enough 鈥渟kills, staff and capacity.鈥�
鈥淲hat we don鈥檛 have is the money. We ask donors to pledge generously and pay pledges promptly,鈥� they said, noting that a donors conference has been organized for June 2 by 萝莉视频 and the United Nations.
Mark Lowcock, the under secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said $2.4 billion needed to be raised by the end of the year for Yemen, including $180 million to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
鈥淵emen is in desperate need of assistance,鈥� Muhannad Hadi of the World Food Programme said, while UNICEF鈥檚 director, Henriette Fore, warned of a 鈥渕ajor disaster.鈥�
More than 12 million children in Yemen are in need of humanitarian aid, she said.
Before the pandemic, two million children lacked schools. Another five million have since been forced to quit school, she said.
Officially, 50 people have died from the new coronavirus in Yemen and infections have been reported in 10 of country鈥檚 22 governorates.
鈥淏ut testing and reporting remain limited and it is likely that most areas of the country are already impacted, if not all,鈥� the United Nations reports.
Yemen has been engulfed in war since 2014 between Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, who control several regions including the capital Sanaa, and the government backed by an Arab coalition.