International Development Committee chair comments on UK aid cut to Yemen

Reacting to today’s announcement of a drop in UK aid to Yemen in 2021, International Development Committee Chair, Sarah Champion MP, said:

“The drastic aid cut for Yemen announced today is utterly appalling. It sends a message that the UK is turning its back on the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. This is completely at odds with the Government’s assertions that the UK should be a global leader, especially in the year with the G7 and COP presidencies. It is an astonishing move, particularly as the UK has the power – as penholder within the UN Security Council for Yemen – to lead the way to create a political solution to the conflict.

“The Foreign Secretary told my Committee in January that the Government wishes to lead on conflict and dispute resolution. It is hard to see how this goal can be met while cutting humanitarian funding. Unless a solution is found to end the conflict in Yemen, the issues of access for food and medical supplies will no doubt become more acute.

“As part of my Committee’s recent inquiry on the secondary impacts of coronavirus, we heard how many Yemeni people do not know where their next meal is coming from. Abandoning the most vulnerable people in their time of greatest need hardly fits with the Government’s aim of the UK being a problem solving and burden sharing nation.”