Lack of Aid Pushes Yemen Into Humanitarian Crisis
In Yemen, a rebel group known as the Houthis are fighting Saudi Arabian forces trying to help the Yemeni government keep control of the country.
Iran, Saudi Arabia’s political rival, is backing the Houthis, and Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi has the support of the United States and a Saudi Arabian-led coalition of Arab countries.
But in the midst of the fighting that has been going on for almost a year, humanity seems to be unsupported, as 80 percent of Yemen’s population suffers without aid.
That sounds like the end of the world. What do you mean by humanity is unsupported?
After an airstrike July 6, a doctor with Doctors Without Borders told the Guardian the Yemen conflict is the worst he has seen yet. “This is the most terrible conflict I’ve seen so far because it never ends,” said Thierry Goffeau. “Every day, every day, there isn’t a single day of truce. Every day screams and dead people.”
The worsening situation prompted the United Nations to declare Yemen a level-three humanitarian emergency — the highest emergency rating the U.N. can give. The declaration came after a July 10 humanitarian pause to allow aid to reach people in the country was broken. The truce was supposed to last till the end of the Muslim holy month, Ramadan but fighting resumed shortly after the truce began.
What does it mean to be a level-three humanitarian emergency?
The U.N. declaration puts the humanitarian crisis in Yemen on the same scale as the crises in Sudan and Syria.
At least 3,000 Yemenis have been killed and at least 14,000 injured since April. More than half of the fatalities were civilian deaths.
Meanwhile more than twenty-one million people — 80 percent of Yemen’s population — are in need of aid.
About 13 million Yemenis are facing food shortages. Nearly half of the country is one step away from a famine.
Access to safe drinking water is limited for more than 9 million people.
About fifteen million people have no access to healthcare, as about 160 out of only about 3,600 health facilities have closed around Yemen according to UNICEF.
And about one million children are now homeless.
Why isn’t aid reaching Yemen?
The U.N. News Center’s human rights office received reports that allies of the Houthis set up checkpoints in four Yemeni states — Aden, al-Dhali, Taiz and Lahj — where they control the entry and exit of goods, limiting access and delivery of humanitarian aid.
Meanwhile a blockade of the country by the Saudi-led coalition has limited Yemen’s food and oil imports, hampering the operations of hospitals and clinics. Despite the U.N. emergency declaration, the blockade has not been lifted.
In June, the U.N. called for $1.6 billion in aid, an increase from its April request for $274 million in aid. As of July 8, the U.N. had only received $273 million — 13 percent of the amount Yemen needs.
Only 4.4 million people in Yemen have received aid. The U.N. hoped to reach more people if the truce had held.
So, why didn’t the truce hold?
There was hardly a pause in the fighting, as Saudi airstrikes and fighting on the ground continued shortly after the U.N.’s declaration of a truce.
Officials in the Saudi-led coalition said they were never informed of the truce, even though the U.N. released a statement claiming President Hadi had “communicated his acceptance of the pause to the Coalition to ensure their support and collaboration.”
U.N. Secretary General Ban-ki Moon said he also received assurances from Houthi rebels and their allies that they would respect the humanitarian pause and “that there will be no violations from any combatants under their control.”
The violation of the truce led to many jokes about the situation in what was called “war comedy.” Jokes made rounds on Twitter, like one sent to a Yemeni humanitarian activist who then tweeted it: “Did you know that ‘#truce’ is the name of a new plane that hovers every hour, bombs & then leaves?”
Why aren’t Saudi or coalition forces doing more to solve the humanitarian crisis in Yemen?
Less than a day after the U.N.’s April appeal for more aid, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Works agreed to provide the entire $274 million in aid, but under certain conditions — that none of the aid should be distributed in areas controlled by Houthi forces, for example — to which it seems the U.N. agreed.
Even so, the U.N. has yet to receive the money and aid pledged by Saudi Arabian officials.
How can I help?
The Yemen Peace Project is a non-profit organization based in California, and provides a list of organizations working in Yemen to which donors can donate money. Alternatively, the project also accepts donations, which can be anonymous.
Islamic Help, a charity organization in the U.K., started an emergency fund for Yemen, with a minimum donation amount of £50 ($78), which provides a single “baby emergency kit” for a young child.
It’s not as if nothing is being done. It’s just that current efforts are not enough.
How did this conflict start? Who are the Houthis? When did Saudi Arabia and Iran get involved?
The conflict began in September when the Houthis, an armed group of Yemen’s Shiite Muslim minority, took control of the capital. Read Gistory’s brief on Yemen to learn more.
Brief contributed by Lakshna Mehta
