UN warns programs fighting coronavirus in Yemen might stop by end of June

The United Nations warned on Wednesday that its programs to fight the coronavirus in war-torn Yemen might have to stop by the end of the month.

The warning came a day after international donors raised $1.35 billion in humanitarian aid for Yemen. The amount fell short of the UN’s target of $2.4 billion needed to save the world’s biggest aid operation, however.

“This will severely handicap efforts to contain the outbreak, which is already spreading rapidly,” AP quoted Hayat Abu Saleh, a spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, as saying.

At least 31 major UN programs in Yemen, covering essentially every sector from food to healthcare and nutrition, are at “serious risk of significant reduction or closure,” she added.