Today the United States announced more than $76 million in new humanitarian assistance to respond to the urgent needs of the Yemeni people throughout the country, bringing the total U.S. humanitarian assistance for Yemen to nearly $404 million since 2015.

As part of this additional funding, the U.S. Government will contribute $68 million to the UN World Food Program's (WFP) emergency operation to augment support for the needs of six million vulnerable Yemenis.  

U.S. funding will also help prevent the spread of cholera by supporting health and hygiene programs throughout the country. Additionally, an earlier contribution to WFP to provide mobile cranes for the Al Hudaydah Port will arrive soon, improving the capacity of the port to receive humanitarian and commercial supplies. 

In addition, more than $6 million of the newly announced assistance will go to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to aid vulnerable migrants in Yemen and the Horn of Africa, including through assisted voluntary returns to their homes. It will support IOM's activities to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance to migrants fleeing or expelled from Yemen, as well as raise awareness among migrants about the dangers of travelling to Yemen.

Prior to the current conflict, Yemen was the poorest and most food insecure country in the region. According to the latest Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) estimates, between 7 and 10 million people require emergency food assistance. The number of people in need would be significantly higher without the on-going, large-scale international humanitarian food assistance response.

The United States remains committed to providing humanitarian support to the people of Yemen while we work to end the conflict. The United States has urged all parties to resume a cessation of hostilities based on the April 10 terms and conditions as soon as possible. We also call upon all parties to ensure that unfettered humanitarian access is possible throughout the country.  It is critical that other humanitarian donors also increase their support to help meet the need of all of those affected by the conflict.