A bipartisan group of senators is calling on the US administration to throw its weight behind another international donor conference for Yemen after the last one raised less than half of what the United Nations said was needed to stave off a looming famine in the war-torn country. 

“We urge you to support another donors conference that fills that funding shortfall, as doing so could mean the difference between life and death for millions of Yemenis,” Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) wrote to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday. 

At a high-level fundraising conference on March 1, donor countries pledged just $1.7 billion in humanitarian aid, far short of the $3.85 billion that the United Nations said was necessary to prevent famine-like conditions throughout Yemen and alleviate what is considered the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. The United States was among the top contributors, announcing $191 million in additional funds. 

After six years of war between the Iran-aligned rebels and the Saudi-led coalition backing the government, 20 million Yemenis — roughly two-thirds of the population — require humanitarian aid to survive. The UN estimates 16 million people will experience hunger in the next year and some 400,000 children could starve to death.