UN pledges to help Yemen overcome economic, humanitarian challenges 

(MENAFN - Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) UN Assistant Secretary General Catherine Bragg said Monday the UN was ready to offer any kind of help to Yemen in order to address the economic and humanitarian crises in the country.

Bragg who doubles as Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the UN would encourage the international donors notably the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the European Union and the United States to contribute to Yemen's 2012 budget particularly the relief effort for the internally displaced Yemenis.

She made the promise during her meeting here with Yemeni Minister of Health and Population Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansi and head of the Operational Unit for the Internally-Displaced People's (IDP's) Camps Ahmad Al-Kahlani.

Bragg, of Canada, called on the Yemeni government to prioritize the humanitarian aspects, healthcare and education in the new state budget, appreciating the progress made in the fields of occupational health and the protection of the safety of the international aid workers.

Al-Ansi and Al-Kahlani briefed the senior UN official and here entourage on the conditions of the IDP notably the health, educational, social and economic problems at the IDP's camps.

"The humanitarian relief program envisaged in the state budget for FY 2012 costs up to USD 447 million, only 30 percent of which are covered so far," the minister Al-Ansi said during the meeting.

Al-Kahlani, on his part, called on the international donors to offer help to his unit's programs notably in the areas of preventive medicine, housing and famine relief.