370 million dollars annually from the United Nations to Houthi
English - Thursday 20 February 2020 الساعة 02:49 pm
Aden, Newsyemen
United Nations agencies have continued to place hundreds of millions of dollars in Houthi accounts over the past five years, to "build capacity", but the Houthi militia accounts for this support for its own benefit, not the staff and needy, as reports by agencies and organizations in Yemen confirm.
In addition to the Houthi militia plundering of relief aid, United Nations agencies provide $ 370 million annually to militia-controlled government institutions in Sanaa, without monitoring how they are spent.
The documents show that the Houthis are opposed to the efforts of the United Nations to tighten control of about 370 million dollars a year that its agencies already provide to government institutions mostly controlled by the rebel group.
These funds are supposed to pay salaries and other administrative costs, but more than a third of the money spent last year has not been revised, according to an internal document leaked to the Associated Press of America.
Private relief workers have expressed concerns about the funds of United Nations relief agencies that are being deposited in the coffers of Houthi leaders or their supporters.
According to aid officials and internal documents obtained by the Associated Press, the Houthi militia has blocked half of the United Nations' aid delivery programs aimed at forcing the agency to give them more control over the massive humanitarian campaign, as well as cutting billions of dollars in foreign aid.
The United Nations has been largely silent about pressure, but behind the scenes, the agency and international donors are looking into meeting Houthi demands. The Associated Press spoke with seven workers, UN officials and independent agencies about the situation.
For months, the Houthis called for a 2% cut in the aid budget entirely, a condition rejected by the United Nations and donors, and last week, the Houthis seemed to have withdrawn the request by 2%, but they continued to press for further concessions, according to aid officials.
The Houthi demands have raised long-standing concerns among aid agencies about the Houthi militia's export of funds and humanitarian supplies in their pockets, supporters, or toward their war efforts.
The World Food Program is currently considering reducing its monthly food aid to 12 million Yemenis each month, and is the United Nations' massive aid program, which has totaled $ 8.35 billion since 2015.
The United Nations has received about 15 billion and 14 million dollars over the past five years in the form of international donations for its humanitarian plans in Yemen, according to the "OCHA" data it publishes on the Fund Tracking Services website.
