The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center’s (KSrelief) relief response plan for Yemen in 2020 helped in launching projects aimed at confronting the coronavirus pandemic.
The center announced that Saudi Arabia’s aid has reached 156 countries and amounted to 184 billion Saudi riyals (50 billion dollars), underscoring its pioneering development and humanitarian role. Aid has ranged from financial support to relief efforts.
During a press conference at its Riyadh headquarters on Thursday, Dr. Abdullah Saleh Al-Moallem, director of KSrelief's Health and Environmental Aid Department, said that ever since the inauguration of the center, it has offered over 17 billion dollars to Yemen.
The funds have been dedicated to development projects and aid to support the legitimate government and Central Bank. Moreover, it has offered 3.5 billion dollars for relief and humanitarian efforts.
Moallem said Saudi Arabia was the first country to respond to the United Nations’ first Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan in 2015, offering 274 million dollars. In 2020, the Kingdom offered 500 million of 2.4 billion dollars needed for Yemen’s humanitarian needs.
He added that the Kingdom carried out 12 projects in the health, nutrition and water sectors in Yemen, worth 87 million dollars in 2020. The center also carried out a response project to confront the first phase of the pandemic, offering 10 million dollars and benefiting 16 million people. The second phase of the plan has benefitted 350,000 people.
In 2020, KSrelief cooperated with international and UN organizations to plan relief response in Yemen amid the pandemic. Efforts focused on curbing the virus outbreak and improving food security and protecting displaced people.
KSrelief has also focused on removing mines planted by the Iran-backed Houthi militias. The Masam project, one of the center’s most important, has so far removed 215,000 mines. Reports say the Houthis have planted over 2 million mines in Yemen.
