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WASHINGTON – The World Bank yesterday allocated US$150 million (RM623 million) to war-torn Yemen to bolster access to basic healthcare, nutrition, and water and sanitation services.
The country’s conflict flared in 2014, when Huthi insurgents seized the capital, Sanaa, prompting a Saudi-led military intervention to prop up the government the following year.
The World Bank said the death toll reached 233,000 by the end of last year, “with half of the deaths caused by a lack of food or access to healthcare, as well as the lack of basic infrastructure to provide these services”.
Some 80% of Yemenis are dependent on aid, in what the United Nations has called the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
The war has displaced millions of people and left the country on the brink of famine.
“Out of a total population of about 29 million, about 20 million Yemenis are food-insecure and at risk of malnutrition, with two-thirds unable to afford enough food and water, and sanitation services. Over four million people have fled their homes,” said the bank in a statement after announcing the grants.
The funds will go towards providing essential health and nutrition services to 3.65 million Yemenis, water and sanitation services for another 850,000, and training 3,000 health workers. – AFP, July 1, 2021