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Humanitarian Aid Provision

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 March 2019

Tuesday, 5 March 2019

Ceisteanna (123)

Niall Collins

Ceist:

123. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the status of the situation in Yemen; the way in which the additional €5 million announced will be spent; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10669/19]

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Freagraí scríofa

Yemen is the world’s largest humanitarian crisis in terms of numbers of people in need - the UN estimates that 24.1 million people, equivalent to four fifths of its population, are severely affected and require some form of humanitarian assistance. 70 per cent of all districts are estimated to be at heightened risk of famine.

Last week, the United Nations and the Governments of Sweden and Switzerland convened a High-Level Pledging Event for the Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen in Geneva. I attended the event on behalf of Ireland and pledged the provision of €5 million for humanitarian assistance to Yemen. This brings Ireland's support to the Yemeni people to over €22.5 million since 2012.

Ireland's will allocate this €5 million funding to the United Nation's Yemen Humanitarian Fund (YHF). The YHF provides rapid, flexible funding to NGOs and UN agencies which have the best capacity to deliver services on the ground. Services cover a range of different sectors including health, water and sanitation, nutrition and education. By incorporating the contributions of multiple donors into a single pooled fund, the YHF allows for a better coordinated response, with support targeted where there is greatest need.

Ireland also contributes to global funds that allocate funding to the Yemen Crisis, including the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), which provides emergency funding for UN agencies, for both rapid onset and underfunded crises; and to the Start Fund, a humanitarian pooled fund for NGOs which is supported by a number of donors. The CERF is the UN's primary mechanism for emergency response, and Yemen was the second largest recipient of CERF funding in 2018, receiving a total of $32 million. Ireland contributed €12 million to the CERF in 2018, and since the establishment of the fund in 2005 has been among the top ten donors.

As I stated at the Yemen Pledging Conference in Geneva, while it is vital that countries provide humanitarian support to Yemen, we must also come together as an international community to address the underlying causes of the conflict. All parties to the conflict must engage fully in the UN-led process, and implement in its entirety the Stockholm agreement.

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