Yemen is suffering badly as the brutal war has totally disrupted normal supplies of power, water, food and public services. Civil society is on the verge of complete collapse and people are forced to live close to starvation. This is why the Gulf coalition fighting to restore Yemen’s legitimate government has taken on a much longer-term task than the military defeat of the Al Houthi rebels and their allies. It has started a major aid programme to allow the rebuilding of government services in liberated Yemen and to provide urgent provision of food and utilities. The Emirates Red Crescent has headed the UAE’s major contribution to this effort, under which the UAE has been the world’s largest donor to Yemen this year, with a total so far of Dh744 million, which is about half the global total offered to Yemen.

The UAE has a notable record of giving effective help and making sure that the aid goes directly to where it is needed. The current work in Yemen follows the UAE’s outstanding work in other countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia even to Kosovo in the 1990s. The range of help the UAE is giving Yemen is new as it covers both food and relief supplies, as well as other activities like rebuilding schools, providing generators and sanitation, operating hospitals and even manning the air traffic control in Aden. In time, the returning Yemeni government will take over these essential responsibilities and it will be a mark of the UAE’s success once Yemen returns to normal life.