Swedish-led pledging event raised almost USD 1.2 billion for life-saving assistance in Yemen
SWEDEN, February 28 - On 27 February, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Nations hosted a high-level pledging event for the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Johan Forssell, UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Head of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs Ignazio Cassis hosted the event, which raised almost USD 1.2 billion for life-saving assistance. Sweden pledged more than USD 25 million.
“Sweden is continuing its global humanitarian commitments to assist the most vulnerable people. We support the UN’s work in Yemen – both its humanitarian action and its political efforts to bring an end to the conflict,” says Mr Forssell.
This is the sixth time that Sweden and Switzerland have co-hosted the pledging event, which is held annually to mobilise international support for the UN-led humanitarian efforts in Yemen. The country is in the throes of one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, with more than 21 million people in need of humanitarian support in 2023 and more than 6 million on the brink of famine.
The pledging event took place in Geneva and was attended by ministers from several major donor countries, including Germany’s Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
