INTERVIEW: Yemen suffers from donor fatigue, aid official says
By Nehal El-Sherif, dpa
Cairo (dpa) – The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), an umbrella group of 57 countries, is sending a delegation to Yemen next month to assess the humanitarian situation in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula state after months of political turmoil and violence.
Atta al-Manan Bakhit, the assistant secretary general for humanitarian affairs at the OIC, spoke to dpa about the deteriorating situation in Yemen.
dpa: How bad is the situation in Yemen?
Bakhit: Yemen is one of the most needy countries now in the area. Due to the political turmoil, the humanitarian situation is deteriorating. I used to tell people, and sometimes they are surprised, that the situation in Yemen right now is worse than Somalia in June 2011, because when we declared famine in Somlia, we were speaking 2.5-3 million Somalis facing famine. Now in Yemen, we are talking about six million people suffering. There is also a problem of access in Yemen, especially in areas out of control of the government. The northern Saada province – controlled by the Shiite Houthi group - is one of the areas there is no easy access to, as well as areas controlled by al-Qaeda elements. And unfortunately, there are no clear figures about the humanitarian problem in these areas.
dpa: What is the international community doing to help?
Bakhit: There is a real humanitarian problem in Yemen. This is why our mission aims to send a strong message to the international community and make a strong call for a real international effort to help Yemenis. And this is why we made this unique selection of all the biggest donor organizations: the United Nations, European Union, USAID, Gulf Cooperation Council and the Arab League. The mission will be led by OIC and I think it will contribute in advocacy and raising the profile of Yemen among donors.
dpa: To what extent is the mission linked to last week's Friends of Yemen meeting in Riyadh, where Gulf and Western states pledged more than four billion dollars in aid?
Bakhit: I do not see a direct connection between the two. The successful Friends of Yemen conference in Riyadh is a continuation of a series of meetings. It looks at the whole picture, political, security, development. But many NGOs called on the meeting to focus on the humanitarian efforts, and for the first time they included this aspect in their discussions. Of course, we want to see some of the donations announced in Riyadh directed to urgent humanitarian aid.
dpa: What are the first steps you plan to take?
Bakhit: The mission is going to listen directly to the government about their urgent needs and their plans and meet with civil society organizations in Yemen, to get a clear picture about the whole situation. A technical team from OIC will stay after the mission and visit some of the affected areas and come up with an updated study about the situation, which will allow us to explain to donors the real needs on the ground.
dpa: How do you expect your efforts to work out, while there is continuing violence by different groups?
Bakhit: We have two challenges, the first is the internal situation in Yemen which will affect our work. But that is not our main issue. I believe we can get access through negotiation or through local partners on the ground. The main challenge for me is the mobilization of international community to join. The problem is that despite the huge need on the ground in Yemen, there is always a donor fatigue related to humanitarian projects in Yemen. The main challenge is our success to mobilize more donors and commit them to contribute to this project.
dpa: When will people be able to see real change in Yemen?
Bakhit: People are eager to see change on the ground and in their lives. But if the international community gives more support to civil society, we can make change in the lives of people. And once people see change, it will reinforce the peace process in the country.
