UK announces £160 million aid package for Yemeni women and children

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly says assistance will go to country's most vulnerable

Extreme poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition in Yemen have been made worse by years of conflict. WFP

One million Yemeni women and children are to receive a major boost after Britain announced a new £160 million ($205 million) aid package on Friday.

Following a three-day trip to the Middle East, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said the money would see the lives of the “most vulnerable” in the country vastly improved following the recent conflict.

Two-thirds of Yemen’s 21 million population have been designated by the UN in need of humanitarian assistance this year.

Women and children will now receive a range of benefits to assist them after almost a decade of civil war that left 227,000 dead as a result of conflict, famine and lack of healthcare facilities.

The Yemen Women and Children Programme, which will last four years, will deliver primary healthcare, including nutrition, water hygiene, sanitation and reproductive health services.

Mr Cleverly emphasised the funding, which is in addition to £1 billion already given to Yemen by Britain since the conflict began in 2014, demonstrated the UK’s growing partnership with the region.

“The conflict in Yemen continues to cause pain and suffering for millions of ordinary Yemenis, with women and children particularly paying a heavy price,” he said during a trip to Jordan where he met Unicef and other humanitarian workers dealing with Yemen.

“The UK remains committed to tackling the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, and the new Yemen Women and Children Programme will deliver vital support to the most vulnerable,” Mr Cleverly added.

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly at a press conference in Jordan. Reuters

The healthcare support will seek to reduce deaths and diseases among women and children.

In a statement, the UK's Foreign Office said there was a high level of preventable deaths to mothers and babies in Yemen, with 2.2 million children and 1.3 million pregnant and nursing mothers acutely malnourished.

“Extreme poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition in Yemen have been made worse by years of conflict,” the statement added.

However, it is hoped that the outlook for all Yemenis will gradually improve after the conflict has not resumed since the UN-brokered truce formally expired in October last year.