Yemenis first and foremost!

Source: Yemen Observer

Written By: Mohammed Humaid Economist and journalist

The economic situation in Yemen has deteriorated very rapidly in recent months. Power cuts have lead to wide spread job losses not only in large factories but also in small workshops which typically absorb a high percentage of the work force.

Even large factories with presumably greater resources can't operate their factories due to the scarcity of diesel fuel. Even if diesel fuel was available in the black market, its price would most likely be forbidding, 5-6 times the official price.

The crisis in Yemen is political in nature and can be condensed into a struggle for power and resources between the former partners in power. The fall out of the political crisis has had a strong bearing on the economy and has stifled its last breath. With the passage of time, the crisis eroded people’s savings and livelihoods to the point that more and more people have slipped below the poverty line.

Poverty in Yemen has always been prevalent. In 2005 it was estimated at about 41%. That figure fell sharply according to official sources to 31% during the hey days of the oil boom of 2005 and 2006.Then poverty started climbing again, reaching about 47% in 2010. Since the inception of the political crisis, poverty climbed to a scary 78% percent. Imagine a country of which four out of five people lack basic human requirements. Imagine how many people during the last ten months have lost their livelihoods and found themselves without money to pay for rent and food. It is a frightening situation.

In spite of this bleak picture, donor countries and international agencies have suspended aid to Yemen during the crisis, either as a means to pressure the government to complying to political demands, particular yielding to the Gulf Cooperation Council's Initiative, or due to the inability of projects to deliver during the crisis. Both justifications are understandable from the point of view of the donors but if one looks at it from the point of view of the people of Yemen who are the genuine beneficiaries of aid, one would find that suspension of aid has lead to job cuts which have deprived many families of their livelihoods as well as suspension of service projects which have negatively impacted their lives.

What Yemenis need from their donor friends is to reschedule aid earmarked for Yemen's economic development to face food crisis that is looming large. The food crisis would be exceptionally damaging if it occurs without prior preparations. One of the possible scenarios that may face the population is the immediate disappearance of food from shelves in supermarkets and excessive hording by the public, which would subsequently trigger a spiraling food prices that would deprive the poor from having access to necessary calories to maintain their lives. Even if food was available, distribution of food may be critical especially given the scarcity of diesel fuel.

 Donors may argue that it’s not possible in the short term to transfer funds allocated for development projects to humanitarian services but its most important to bear in mind that the Yemeni people are today  in a desperate need for a  large scale contingency plans to face a possible wide scale food shortage. Failure to do so may not only cause preventable suffering but might lead to clashes over what little food is available. Arab oil producing countries notably Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have supported Yemen strongly during the crisis whether in the form of in-kind aid such as wheat and oil derivates as well as budgetary support. They however, lack the logistic capacity and experience which can be provided by international relief agencies. It would not therefore be a mistake to appeal to such countries to fund relief work in Yemen. The Yemeni people