ADEN, Yemen, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Humanitarian aid activities and campaigns have multiplied as fighting continues to escalate in various areas of the war-torn Yemen, a government official told Xinhua on Wednesday.
"The escalating fighting prompted many local and international humanitarian organizations operating in Yemen to speed up aid operations to meet the needs of war-affected families," the official said on condition of anonymity.
The humanitarian organizations began moving urgent aid to support people living in war-ravaged areas amid lack of food supplies, he added, citing that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Red Cross Organization instantly doubled its humanitarian operations responding to the increasing number of displaced families and their harsh living conditions in Yemen.
Last week, the new power-sharing government based in Yemen's southern port city of Aden warned the international community about its collapsing economy.
At the pledging conference convened last week, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres requested 3.85 billion U.S. dollars to fund humanitarian operations in Yemen for 2021. However, the total amount of pledges made was 1.67 billion dollars.
"Millions of Yemeni children, women and men desperately need aid to live. Cutting aid is a death sentence," Guterres said.
Saudi Arabia, which is leading a military coalition fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen, made the largest donation of 430 million dollars, followed by Germany (245 million dollars), the UAE (230 million dollars), and the United States (191 million dollars).
On the ground, the UAE, a key member of the Arab coalition in Yemen, continues offering its humanitarian assistance in different war-ravaged areas in Yemen, particularly in the poverty-stricken areas located in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah.
Yemen has been mired in civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi rebels seized control of several northern provinces and forced the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.
The Saudi-led coalition intervened in the Yemen conflict in March 2015 to support Hadi's government. Enditem
