A Yemeni boy and a family member push a wheelbarrow with empty canisters to a roadside water pipe in Sana'a on March 22
Keystone
The Swiss public has expressed its solidarity for the victims of the war in Yemen, donating more than CHF3.1 million ($3.1 million) on Thursday to a collection by Swiss Solidarity.
The collection was organised in partnership with the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, swissinfo.ch’s parent company, and will go to organisations that help civil society in Yemen, especially those in the field of health, hygiene and drinking water supply.
For four years Yemen, located on the south-western tip of the Arabian Peninsula, has been wracked by a bitter civil war, which has weakened the local population and shattered the health system, Swiss Solidarity saysExternal link.
Some 24 million people – 80% of the population – are dependent on aid, with 1.8 million children suffering from undernourishment. This makes it the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, according to the UNExternal link.
On Thursday, nearly 400 volunteers took turns throughout the day to collect pledges at telephone centres in Chur, Geneva, Lugano and Zurich. The money raised will enable Swiss Solidarity to co-finance the most urgent projects of partner organisations, such as Adra, Handicap International, Médecins sans Frontières and Save the Children.
The foundation has already made CHF1 million available to its partners.
While the dedicated collection day is over, fundraising remains open and donations can be made onlineExternal link or via postal account 10-15000-6 (“Yemen”). Payment slips from Swiss Solidarity are also available in all postal offices.
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Switzerland has pledged a total of CHF13.5 million in humanitarian aid for the country, whose citizens continue to suffer under fighting and famine.
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“After a lull at the end of last week, fighting has intensified in the last two days,” testified Sanaa Mirella Hodeib, a spokesperson for the ICRC delegation in Yemen, on Wednesday. “While the city of Hodeida is surrounded by fighting, the port itself has not yet been affected,” she noted. “Humanitarian aid can therefore still…
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