GLOBAL DONORS AND TOP AID OFFICIALS GATHER VIRTUALLY FOR YEMEN PLEDGING EVENT

RIYADH – SAUDI ARABIA (31 May 2020) The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is set to become the largest

consistent donor to Yemen during the upcoming High-Level Pledging Event for the Humanitarian

Crisis in Yemen on Tuesday, 2 June 2020. The Pledging Event for the United Nation’s Yemen

Humanitarian Response Plan is being hosted virtually by the Kingdom in partnership with the

United Nations. A total of USD 2.3 billion is being sought to cover emergency requirements in

Yemen across multiple humanitarian sectors, including medical, food and shelter assistance.

The Event is the first virtual event of its kind to be held on this scale, and will be attended by top

Saudi Arabian and United Nations officials. Among the high-level attendees will be His Royal

Highness Faisal Bin Farhan, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, António Guterres, Secretary-

General of the United Nations, Dr. Abdullah Al Rabeeah, Advisor – Royal Court and Supervisor

General of King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief), and Mr. Mark Lowcock,

Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (OCHA). The

event will take place from 8:00-13:40 EDT (New York).

Saudi Arabia hopes to attract significant pledges to finance the 2020 Emergency Humanitarian

Response Plan to bring relief to the estimated 24.3 million people in Yemen who are currently in

acute need. The United Nations has taken the unusual step of extending the implementation

period of the existing plan from this June until the end of December 2020 in light of the COVID-

19 pandemic.

“Yemen has been the number one humanitarian priority for Saudi Arabia and KSrelief,” said Dr

Abdullah Al Rabeeah, Supervisor General of KSrelief. “COVID-19 has created new needs there, but

is just the latest challenge in an already deteriorating situation. Yemen needs a lot of help, not

least because of its weak health system. Saudi Arabia, through its strong partnership with the

United Nations organizations, is determined to continue to help the Yemeni people, as it has

consistently done since 2015.”

KSrelief provides impartial and independent assistance to Yemen and other countries. To date,

60-70% of the Kingdom’s Yemen assistance has been channeled through the United Nations,

always in line with the basic humanitarian principles of impartially and independence from

economic, political, military or religious considerations.

The Kingdom’s ongoing assistance to Yemen is in line with its long history of commitment towards

meeting the needs of the country; over the last 5 years, Saudi Arabia has provided nearly USD 17

billion in aid to Yemen, including humanitarian and development aid, support to the Central Bank

of Yemen and comprehensive assistance to Yemenis living in the Kingdom. In 2019, Saudi Arabia

was the top donor country to Yemen, with contributions totaling USD 1.25 billion, or 31.1% of the

total amount sought by the United Nations. Since May of 2015, KSrelief and 88 humanitarian

partners have implemented 474 projects across 12 humanitarian sectors, aid totaling USD 3

billion.

On COVID-19, Saudi Arabia has established a strategic plan to help countries and regions most in

need. Yemen has one of the most fragile healthcare systems on the planet, and at the start of the

pandemic, the Ministry of Health of Yemen received immediate support from the Kingdom

through capacity-building, funding, and the provision of protective equipment and diagnostic

supplies. KSrelief has also worked with many international NGOs and non-UN partners to prevent

the global spread of the pandemic.

Both KSrelief and the United Nations are hopeful that this important event will result in pledges

from donor countries to provide the urgent funding that is so crucial to alleviating the suffering

of all Yemenis in need.