U.N. aid chief says Saudi Arabia to pay $500 mln for Yemen aid next week

U. N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (OCHA) Mark Lowcock, addresses the United Nations Security Council at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S, April 10, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - United Nations aid chief Mark Lowcock said Saudi Arabia plans to pay $500 million (402.4 million pounds) next week of a pledge it made in February to help fund a humanitarian response in Yemen, which the world body has described as the world's worst aid crisis.

Lowcock on Monday told the U.N. Security Council that Saudi Arabia - which leads a military coalition fighting in Yemen - planned to pay on Sept. 25 and that the United Arab Emirates had also recently made a payment of $200 million.