AS humanitarian agencies brace themselves for the impact of devastating UK Government overseas aid cuts, charities are trying to find ways to mitigate the damage to lifeline supplies and services.
Boris Johnson’s move to slash that cash by £4billion has been condemned by more than 100 agencies and the UN’s head of humanitarian affairs says the specific £77 million drop in help for Yemen – where UK-made arms are still bought and used by Saudi Arabia – will cost lives.
In Yemeni capital Sana’a, Steve Claborne of Mercy Corps is trying to guide the Edinburgh-based charity’s team through the funding cuts.
He told The National: “The most vulnerable, marginalised human beings on the planet will pay the price for the decision the UK has made to cut aid.
“These cuts will have a devastating impact and likely lead to less food for Yemen’s people, fewer medicines for children suffering from preventable diseases, and less support for education, and financial support.
“The UK Government must urgently reconsider these budget cuts so that millions of Yemeni people are not left behind.”
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Eighty per cent of Yemenis – 20.7m people – require some form of humanitarian or protection assistance, and 16m people face hunger this year, Claborne says.
It’s feared that almost half of all children under the age of five – 2.3m youngsters – will suffer acute malnutrition in 2021.
Claborne went on: “The daily life of the Yemeni people is a struggle for survival.
“More than 16m Yemenis do not have enough to eat. Many families were struggling even before the crisis began and now their very survival is at risk.
“This devastating hunger crisis is a man-made emergency.
“The economy has been shattered, food prices are on the rise and essential services like health and education are collapsing. Many people have lost their jobs and cannot afford basic items.”
READ MORE: 'An attack on aid': Sciaf and Mercy Corps on UK overseas aid budget cuts
Calling for concerted international efforts, he said: “Blockades of fuel and restricted access to desperate populations must end.
“Funding to promote economic recovery is urgently needed. People need to get back to work so that they can provide for their families. They cannot continue to live on the meagre assistance provided year after year.
“Yemeni people are seeking a way out this war, and the international community must do everything possible to assist them.”
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