ABU DHABI // Aid chiefs allocated an extra Dh300 million on Sunday to scale up the Emirates Red Crescent humanitarian effort in Yemen.
The agency has already spent nearly Dh80m on relief efforts for Yemenis in desperate need of food, water and medicine. It has sent five ships loaded with 7,000 tonnes of food and medical assistance, oil products and aid specifically for children.
The Red Crescent moved its operations centre from Sanaa to Aden after Houthi rebels were driven out of the southern port city last month.
“With calm and stability returning to Aden and other provinces, the ERC is on the threshold of a new phase of relief operations,” the agency said on Sunday.
Aden will be the logistical centre for aid sent by the UAE or purchased from neighbouring markets, and will also be the launch pad for relief operations to other provinces.
In Sanaa, the capital, which is still controlled by the rebels, the International Committee of the Red Cross president Peter Maurer said the organisation would be doubling its programme in response to the “catastrophic” situation.
* Wam and Associated Press
