UN to Convene High-Level Pledging Conference for Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen on March 1

UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th February, 2021) The United Nations said in a statement on Tuesday that it will hold a virtual high-level pledging conference on March 1 to mobilize funds to address the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

"On March 1, the United Nations will convene a virtual high-level pledging event for the humanitarian crisis in Yemen co-hosted by the governments of Sweden and Switzerland," the statement said. "The main purpose is for participating member states and other donors to announce pledges to address the dire needs in the country."

The upcoming conference will help to avert a looming famine in Yemen, which remains the site of the world's largest humanitarian crisis with more than 20 million people in need of aid, the statement said.

The event will be co-hosted by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock, Swiss Foreign Department hea Ignazio Cassis, Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde and Minister for International Development Cooperation Per Olsson Fridh.

Yemen has been engulfed in an armed conflict between the government forces led by President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and the Houthi rebels since 2014. A coalition of states led by Saudi Arabia launched a military operation to support the internationally recognized Hadi government in 2015. The Houthis continue to maintain control over a vast part in the north of the country, including the capital of Sanaa.