Khabar Khair (Only Good News) – Abdul Jalil Al-Salami

   Relief efforts in Yemen included massive inflows of funds, as the economic and social conditions in the country by the conflict called for a more important role for development and humanitarian partners to limit all economic fallouts.

   According to the latest UN data for the year 2021, 104 organizations were active in Yemen, and these organizations were 9 United Nations agencies, 34 international non-governmental organization, and 61 national non-governmental organization of OCHA.

     These organizations that are funded by the United Nations, focus primarily on humanitarian interventions, in the sectors of protection, water, health, education, malnutrition, food security, shelter, and the management and coordination of refugee camps.

     The United Nations calls on the international community to mobilize the necessary funding for humanitarian action in Yemen, and after aid flows, it is allocated towards the most urgent and priority humanitarian programs and interventions. These programs are mostly implemented by international and local organizations.

     The UN report indicated that most of the funding, 63%, comes from just 4 countries: the United States of America, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and Germany.

    According to the statistics of the General Department of Organizations at the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, the number of Arab and foreign non-governmental organizations in Yemen has reached 74, working in many developmental, social, and economic fields, but half of them have ceased operating since the beginning of the conflict.

    Because Yemeni economy has shrunk by more than half since the beginning of the conflict, prices have risen and the depreciation of the real riyal and losing 40 percent of Yemeni families their main source of income, and the decline in remittances; 80 percent of Yemenis slipped below the poverty line.

    The General Administration of Organizations at the Yemeni Ministry of Planning had called on international organizations operating in Yemen to provide urgent relief support and postpone other large projects, as most of the citizens were unable to access basic food.

    A new study (Foreign Aid between Relief and Development) said that relief aid is of paramount importance to the Yemeni economy at the current stage, given that its total is almost equal to the state’s public budget.

      The study issued by the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation – a copy of which was obtained by “Khabar Khair” – indicated that aid has created an economy parallel to the official economy, and the continuation of humanitarian relief in Yemen is critical to alleviating the deterioration of the humanitarian situation and protecting the most vulnerable groups from hunger and disease.

    The study called on organizations operating in Yemen to shift from relief to development and recovery, including better programming for sustainable development projects such as reconstruction and labor-intensive projects, to improve the standard of living of community members.