UNITED NATIONS, United States: The United Nations announced Friday it is scaling back its humanitarian aid goals in Yemen and Somalia in the latest fallout from a drastic drop in funding from member states.
It said the cuts are putting millions of lives at risk around the world.
In January the UN launched an appeal for $2.4 billion to help 10.5 million people in war-torn Yemen this year, far below the 19.5 million people it deems as being in need of assistance.
But with funding down, the global body and its humanitarian aid partners established new priorities so as to be able to help at least the neediest people there.
The UN announced similar changes in strategy in Ukraine and Democratic Republic of Congo in recent weeks.
Now the focus in Yemen will be on 8.8 million people with a forecast budget of $1.4 billion, said Stephanie Tremblay, a spokeswoman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
In violent and unstable Somalia, an initial $1.4 billion plan to help 4.6 million people has also been trimmed back to $367 million for 1.3 million people, she said.
“This does not mean that there’s been a reduction in overall humanitarian needs and requirements,” Tremblay said.
She said huge funding cuts are forcing humanitarian aid programs to scale back, “putting millions of lives at risk across the world.”
“As in other crises, the consequence will be dire. If we fail to deliver, millions more people will be acutely hungry and lack access to clean water, education, protection and other essential services,” she added.
UN agencies are scaling back operations and staffing around the world as they grapple with big cuts in contributions from member states, in particular the United States under President Donald Trump.
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UN scales back aid goals in Yemen and Somalia
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UN scales back aid goals in Yemen and Somalia
- UN agencies are scaling back operations and staffing around the world as they grapple with big cuts in contributions from member states
Kremlin suggests it may not like new Ukraine peace proposals after recent US-Ukraine talks
MOSCOW: Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said on Friday that Moscow has not seen revised US proposals made after the most recent talks with Ukraine, but that it may not like parts of them.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday Kyiv had agreed on key points of a post-war reconstruction plan in talks with US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and other top officials.
Zelensky said work on an “economic document” was proceeding and that Ukraine was “fully aligned with the American side.”
The United States has sought to establish an investment fund in Ukraine for sectors including rare metals as a central aspect of the country’s post-war reconstruction.
Moscow has also
signalled
its interest in attracting foreign investment after the Wall Street Journal reported that Washington’s peace plan includes proposals to invest in Russian rare earths and energy.
Ushakov, the Kremlin aide, said on Friday that the Russian side hadn’t yet seen the new proposals, but suggested Moscow may not look upon them favorably..”..We haven’t seen the revised versions of the American drafts. When we see them, we may not like a lot of things, that’s how I sense it,” Ushakov told reporters.
He added that European and Ukrainian officials were expected to engage in an “active brainstorming session” over the weekend, and that the Kremlin needed to see what the outcome would be.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that there were no lingering “misunderstandings” with Washington over Ukraine, but added that Moscow wanted any peace plan to include collective security guarantees for all parties involved.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday Kyiv had agreed on key points of a post-war reconstruction plan in talks with US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and other top officials.
Zelensky said work on an “economic document” was proceeding and that Ukraine was “fully aligned with the American side.”
The United States has sought to establish an investment fund in Ukraine for sectors including rare metals as a central aspect of the country’s post-war reconstruction.
Moscow has also
signalled
its interest in attracting foreign investment after the Wall Street Journal reported that Washington’s peace plan includes proposals to invest in Russian rare earths and energy.
Ushakov, the Kremlin aide, said on Friday that the Russian side hadn’t yet seen the new proposals, but suggested Moscow may not look upon them favorably..”..We haven’t seen the revised versions of the American drafts. When we see them, we may not like a lot of things, that’s how I sense it,” Ushakov told reporters.
He added that European and Ukrainian officials were expected to engage in an “active brainstorming session” over the weekend, and that the Kremlin needed to see what the outcome would be.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that there were no lingering “misunderstandings” with Washington over Ukraine, but added that Moscow wanted any peace plan to include collective security guarantees for all parties involved.
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