Geneva aid summit seeks to pull Yemen from brinkApril 25, 2017 - 11:32 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A pledging conference to raise funds for Yemen is taking place in Geneva on Tuesday, March 25 amidst what the UN describes as "the world's largest humanitarian crisis", according to BBC News. Before the conflict between the Saudi-led coalition, supporting Yemen's government, and Houthi rebels began, Yemen was already the poorest country in the Middle East. Now, after two years of civil war, the World Food Programme says the country is on the brink of famine. The sheer scale of the deprivation is staggering: of Yemen's 25.6 million people, almost 19 million are in urgent need of assistance, the UN says. Almost seven million are "severely food insecure", meaning they need food aid immediately. Two million children are acutely malnourished. But despite repeated warnings about a potential disaster in Yemen, the UN's appeal for $2.1bn to bring relief is only 15% funded. Aid agencies say government ministers gathering in Geneva for the pledging conference must now commit. "Yemen is a forgotten conflict," says Caroline Anning of Save the Children. She believes that the focus on Syria and Iraq is starving Yemen not just of funding, but of the diplomacy needed to try to bring the war to an end, and is hopeful the conference in Geneva may finally bring Yemen the attention it so desperately needs. "Anything that puts Yemen on the map and gets people thinking about not letting this conflict grind on is positive." Photo: AP Related links: Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |