Coordination meeting held between Marib’s local authority and humanitarian partners.

In Marib Governorate, a comprehensive coordination meeting was held today between the local authority and humanitarian partners from international, regional, and local organizations active in the humanitarian sector. The meeting, chaired by the Deputy Governor Dr. Abd-Rabbu Miftah, was organized by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

During the meeting, the Executive Unit in the governorate presented a report on the humanitarian situation, highlighting the gap between needs and interventions, and evaluating the implementation level of humanitarian intervention plans for the first and second quarters. Additionally, a summary of the Marib Governorate’s Humanitarian Needs Plan for 2024/2025, recently launched by the local authority, was discussed, emphasizing the challenges and difficulties facing humanitarian work.

Deputy Governor Miftah expressed concern over the worsening humanitarian situation in the governorate, stressing the need for increased coordination and efforts to address the significant existing and potential challenges, as well as the growing needs, especially in light of the significant reduction in funding which has impacted humanitarian interventions and the overall humanitarian situation.

Miftah appreciated the efforts of humanitarian partners over the past years, which have assisted the local authority in responding to needs. He praised the interventions by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre, through its emergency response covering much of the deficit of international and UN interventions in responding to emergency humanitarian appeals for displaced persons and host communities affected by disasters and climate change, and alleviating the suffering of families in dire need of food, which is increasing due to delays in the distribution of food aid by the World Food Programme every quarter.

Dr. Miftah emphasized the importance of enhancing the capacities of groups leading humanitarian work in each of the six essential sectors, ensuring the equitable distribution of projects according to needs, priorities, comprehensiveness, and fairness, and rejecting any groups formed outside the humanitarian sphere for political purposes that could affect emergency and sustainable humanitarian work programs.

He urged humanitarian partners to mobilize support and funding for the establishment of a hospital specializing in infectious diseases in the governorate, which are increasing in prevalence, especially with the rise in cases of food insecurity and immune deficiency, including tuberculosis. Miftah indicated that the local authority would provide the land necessary for this critical project.

The Deputy Governor highlighted the many and growing challenges in the humanitarian situation, calling for a collective responsibility to face these challenges to prevent a humanitarian disaster, given the increasing number of families facing food insecurity and the rising phenomenon of children selling water in the streets to buy bread for their families.

To follow the news in Arabic