Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
The Collective Voice of The Muslim World
Date: 18/12/2016
The Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) , HE Dr. Yousef bin Ahmed Al-Othaimeen, called for the adoption, , in cooperation with the international community organizations, of quality humanitarian intervention initiatives commensurate with the scale of the humanitarian crisis in Yemen to support the Yemeni people.
In his statement, the Secretary-General, considered the preparatory meeting for the conference to support Yemen, held on 18/12/2016, at the OIC General Secretariat headquarters in Jeddah, as an important step on the road to strengthen the response and coordination mechanism among the stakeholders in Yemen to avoid duplication of action, which could have a negative impact on the effectiveness and efficiency of humanitarian intervention.
Al-Ohtaimeen expressed appreciation for many OIC Member States for the generous assistance provided to the Yemeni people. He also valued the relief and humanitarian efforts made by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdul Azeez Al Saud, the Crown Prince and the Deputy Crown Prince, through King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Action.
On his part, H.E. the Minister of Local Administration, Chairman of the Higher Committee for Relief in Yemen, Mr. Abdur-Raqueeb Saif Fath, delivered a statement indicating that UN reports on the humanitarian disaster show that 21.2 million people out of the total 27 million people of Yemen, need different forms of humanitarian aid and that 19.3 million of them do not have access to safe drinking water, while 14.1 million suffer a shortage of food, with a 200 % in two years , and 2.2 million children suffer from acute malnutrition, up 200 % from 2014.
The Yemeni Minister said that the legitimate government in Yemen hopes that the conference to support Yemen will adopt resolutions on financing including immediate relief to the Yemeni people , implementing urgent public and private facilities projects reconstruction and restoration projects and integrated local development projects, and supporting and strengthening the infrastructure and basic services.
As UN Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Partnerships with Middle East, Central Asia, Mr. Rashid Khalikov delivered a statement .He stressed that 18.8 million people in Yemen need humanitarian assistance, half of whom are in need of emergency relief, pointing out that seven million people do not know from where they will get their next meal. He added that only $ 150 million have been received from the total $ 1.6 billion pledged in 2016.
Mr. Khalikov thanked the OIC for its regional and international efforts to support the people of Yemen.
The meeting, which was organized in cooperation with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, solicited support for a UN/OIC high-level humanitarian pledging conference, in 2017, to mobilize the necessary resources to support the Yemeni people.
The meeting was held in implementation of the OIC decision contained in the Final Communiqué of the 13th Session of the Islamic Summit Conference held in Istanbul in April 2016, which requested the OIC Secretary General to organize an international conference to mobilize the necessary resources to provide humanitarian and development assistance to the Yemeni people
Related: Yemen
