Aden (Union)
The United Nations Population Fund announced yesterday that more than 28,000 people were affected in the past hours due to floods that hit Hajjah Governorate, northwest of Yemen, while the Yemeni government declared the liberated directorates in the north of the governorate “disaster-affected”, calling for the preparation of a clear national vision on the effects of climate change on Yemen, and presenting it during the country’s participation in the Conference of the Parties “COP 29”.
The UN Fund said in a brief statement issued by its office in Yemen: “Last night, more than 28,000 people in 4 districts of Hajjah Governorate were affected by torrential rains.”
He said that the UN Rapid Response Mechanism teams, led by the United Nations Population Fund, are continuing assessment and response operations, without providing details on the nature of this damage.
The UN office added that these teams have so far registered more than 4,112 families to respond to them with emergency relief.
The Yemeni government declared the liberated districts north of Hajjah Governorate, northwest of the country, as “disaster” areas due to the damage to thousands of displaced families as a result of the heavy rains that occurred during the past two days, most of whom lost their homes.
The Director General of the Executive Unit for the Management of Displaced Persons Camps, Abdo Masawi, said in a press statement, “Despite the passage of 24 hours since the distress call made by the Displaced Persons Unit, it has not received any response from humanitarian organizations.”
Masawi added that the displaced families, most of whom are children and women, in the directorates of Midi, Haradh, Hayran and Abs, are in dire need of urgent interventions in the shelter and shelter materials sector, as well as the food, water and environmental sanitation sectors, pointing out that thousands of displaced people who lost their homes no longer have even mattresses or blankets to take shelter with.
The Executive Unit had launched a distress call, appealing to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and all humanitarian organizations to contribute to meeting the needs of the displaced in those directorates, including food aid, shelter, non-food items, water, sanitation and hygiene services.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak yesterday directed the preparation of a national vision and the formulation of a negotiating position that reflects the priorities and needs to confront the devastating effects of climate change in Yemen, especially on livelihoods, environmental resources, basic services, and infrastructure, and to determine the international support required to limit its repercussions.
The Prime Minister, while chairing a government meeting yesterday in the interim capital Aden, as part of the ongoing preparations for Yemen’s participation in the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP 29) scheduled to be held in Baku next November, stressed the need to provide a clear vision on the effects of climate change on Yemen and to present the country’s needs and the government’s vision for confronting climate change, considering that it is one of the most affected countries, despite being one of the countries with the least contribution to emissions causing climate change.
The Yemeni Prime Minister pointed out the importance of building a comprehensive strategy that includes the indirect challenges related to climate change, including the influx of refugees, and mobilizing regional and international support to improve national capabilities to confront and predict them, and to continuously adapt to their fluctuations.
He also stressed the need to benefit from international trends to obtain funding, establish regional and international partnerships, and implement the necessary measures and procedures aimed at mitigating the risks of climate change.
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