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WORLD NEWS Tuesday 8 december 2020
Yemen 'on edge of precipice' as UNICEF launches aid appeal

By JOSEF FEDERMAN Ethiopian refugees to lin-
JERUSALEM (AP) — Yemen gering hostilities.
is "on the edge of a preci- But Chaiban described Su-
pice" after years of civil war, dan as a "place of hope"
a senior U.N. official has and said the world should
warned on Monday, with invest in its health and ed-
millions of children suffering ucation systems and pro-
from malnutrition and fac- mote reconciliation there.
ing the risk of famine. "We really have an op-
Ted Chaiban sounded the portunity to move beyond
alarm about the worsen- what has been the tradi-
ing humanitarian situation tional narrative in Sudan,"
as the United Nations Chil- he said. "These kinds of op-
dren's Fund launched an portunities in the Middle
appeal for a record $2.5 East and North Africa ... do
billion in emergency funds not happen very often."
from global donors. Last year, UNICEF ap-
As UNICEF's director for the pealed for some $2 billion
Middle East and North Af- in emergency assistance
rica, Chaiban oversees an for the Mideast but only
effort to assist children and was able to raise about half
families in a region hit hard of that. It runs operations in
by conflict, natural disaster other troubled places such
and the coronavirus crisis. as Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Libya,
With some 39 million chil- In this Nov. 23, 2019 file photo, a malnourished newborn baby lies in an incubator at Al-Sabeen Jordan and the Palestinian
dren in need of assistance, hospital in Sanaa, Yemen. territories.
the Middle East alone ac- Associated Press With the global economy in
counts for 40% of the agen- recession and governments
cy's $6 billion global ap- rebels captured the capital and disaster zones has be- and their children. scrambling to take care
peal. in 2014, may be the most come even more difficult He said that one of the re- of their own populations,
"The largest humanitarian challenging area for UNI- due to the coronavirus. He gion's few bright spots is the agency faces an even
emergencies in the world CEF. The agency estimates estimated that 40% of the Sudan, which is emerging more daunting challenge
are in this region," Chaiban that virtually all of Yemen's students UNICEF serves do from years of internal con- this year. But Chaiban said
said in an interview with The 12 million children require not have sufficient access flict and is attempting to the cost of inaction will be
Associated Press. He spoke some sort of assistance. to internet or computers to transition to democracy. even higher.
from Amman, Jordan. This can include food aid, allow remote learning. The country still faces great "If we are able to continue
The region includes some health services, clean wa- UNICEF has been working challenges, from floods to with the response. We can
of the world's most press- ter, schooling and cash with governments and tele- the arrival of over 40,000 avoid the worst," he said.q
ing humanitarian disas- grants to help the poorest com companies and other
ters — from Yemen, where families scrape by. partners to find "blended"
years of conflict have left "We are raising the alarm solutions that include some
it on the brink of famine, because we are on the in-person learning, putting
to Sudan, which is coping edge of a precipice in Ye- content online and giving
with floods and an influx of men," Chaiban said, with children increased access
refugees from Ethiopia as it some 2 million children to technology.
emerges from years of civil "acutely malnourished" Adding to the challenges is
strife. and 5 million people on the the coronavirus pandemic,
Lebanon, meanwhile, is brink of famine. which has stretched over-
dealing with political pa- He said efforts by the U.N. whelmed national health
ralysis, an unprecedent- and non-governmental or- care systems and strained
ed economic crisis and a ganizations are keeping education systems.
large population of Pales- the country afloat. Roughly $500 million, or
tinian and Syrian refugees "If that falls apart, then it one-fifth of the total ap-
as it tries to recover from all falls apart," he warned. peal, is aimed at helping
a massive blast in its capi- "There's a train coming the region's countries cope
tal of Beirut in August. Syria down the track. You know with COVID-19, the illness
continues to struggle with what the consequences of caused by the virus. Much
a civil war, now in its tenth not acting is." of that money will be spent
year, which has displaced Education is the biggest to ensure that children can
millions of people internally component of the appeal, continue to study. Support-
and scattered millions more at $874 million, or more ing health and clean-water
as refugees. than a third of all spend- programs are also critical.
Yemen, which plunged ing. Chaiban said the al- Chaiban said UNICEF is
into chaos and civil war af- ready challenging task of working closely with Covax,
ter Iranian-backed Houthi educating children in war an ambitious global project
to procure and safely de-
liver vaccines to the world's
poorest people. The agen-
cy is promoting education-
al campaigns so people
understand the vaccina-
tion process for themselves