Oxfam says millions at risk of food crisis

Families in parts of Yemen are in dire need of assistance as crippling food prices and fuel shortages drive them to breaking point, according to a new report released today by the international aid agency, Oxfam. Already, one-third of Yemenis – 7.5 million people – are going hungry.

New research by Oxfam in the western governorate of al Hodeida finds that nearly two-thirds of poor people surveyed said they had resorted to skipping meals, and one-fifth had taken children out of school to find work to help the family survive. Many families are relying on a diet of bread and rice alone.

At a time when donors should be scaling up funding, some, such as the World Bank, are suspending aid based on political and security concerns at the expense of the most vulnerable communities.

The aid agency says a bolder response from donors is needed and is calling on them to meet through the Friends of Yemen – a group of interested governments, including key Western and Gulf States – to coordinate immediate funds for Yemen.

"Ordinary families are telling us they simply don’t have the money to buy even the basics,” said Ashley Clements, author of Oxfam’s report ‘Yemen: Fragile lives in hungry times’. “Many say they don’t know where their next meal is coming from. It’s time for Friends of Yemen to meet to decide what concrete action they will take to help the Yemeni people.”

Oxfam’s report reveals there is a major shortfall in humanitarian aid funding, as some donors have historically focused on political and security objectives in Yemen – leaving the poorest people out in the cold.

While donors have pledged billions of dollars to help Tunisia, Egypt and Libya rebuild their economies and meet humanitarian needs, the plight of people living in the poorest country in the region is being forgotten by the international community.

The UN-administered Humanitarian Response Plan has received just 57 per cent of its required funding figure of US$290 million for 2011. Nearly $58 million came from the US, by far the largest donor addressing food security in Yemen, but much more is still needed.

The World Food Programme is also facing a shortfall of nearly $60 million, around a third of its overall annual budget in the country, leaving hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people without the support they need. In recent months, support has come from Gulf States in the form of significant donations of oil, though they have the capacity to do far more.

Some donors have been suspending aid rather than scaling up. For example, last month, the World Bank suspended $542 million of aid including funding for desperately-needed welfare payments to some of the country’s poorest people because of security and governance concerns. However, some welfare institutions the World Bank funds are continuing to provide support to the poorest Yemenis.

Undoubtedly there are major challenges to delivering aid in Yemen but that’s true in many other parts of the world. Some of these obstacles can be overcome.

“For too long promises of support from donor countries have failed to materialise,” Clements said. “Donors have been hesitant to increase support for the troubled country and are opting to wait until the political turmoil has settled; but by then it could be too late.

“It is time to stem the tide that is sweeping the country towards calamity.”

Oxfam is preparing to respond to the troubling findings of the survey in al Hodeida through a programme that gives cash to families that are highly vulnerable or suffering from hunger, and in the longer-term will work to improve employment opportunities and the ability of communities to feed themselves. The programme is expected to support around 100,000 people.

Oxfam is also responding to the needs of thousands of displaced people temporarily living in schools in the port of Aden. The agency is delivering water, sanitation and hygiene programmes, which help 20,000 people in camps in the north. It is practical and possible to distribute aid to millions in Yemen, as the UN, Yemeni authorities, and many local and international NGOs like Oxfam are proving.

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