US slashes millions in Yemen aid despite pandemic
As Yemen stares down a coronavirus crisis, the United States is set to slash $73 million in humanitarian assistance because of worsening Houthi aid restrictions.
The Donald Trump administration is set to eliminate the majority of humanitarian assistance to Yemen amid concerns that a looming coronavirus outbreak will further decimate the war-torn country’s public health sector, which already struggles to cater to millions of immunocompromised Yemenis.
The Trump administration argues that the cuts, first reported by the Washington Post, are necessary because of onerous new aid restrictions on international delivery set up by the Houthi rebels, who control most of northern Yemen.
“Interference in aid operations is not acceptable anywhere, but the Houthis’ actions are particularly egregious,” a spokesperson for the US Agency for International Development (USAID) told Al-Monitor. “This decision is a last resort. The United States, other donors and international aid organizations have been advocating with the Houthis for years to allow aid groups to operate independently, but we have now reached a point where continued obstruction has made it impossible to ensure aid is reaching those who need it most.”
Still, the steep cut has even drawn out opposition from some humanitarian aid groups that have taken a harder line on Houthi aid obstruction in recent months. They argue that the cuts are particularly irresponsible as the World Health Organization has warned of a coming “explosion” of COVID-19 cases in Yemen.
