Yemen at a glance

The crisis and the response

• There are now at least 340,000 IDPs displaced by conflict in northern Yemen: return prospects are limited as the conflict has become regionalised.
• The international community seems powerless to prevent further closure of humanitarian space as both sides violate international humanitarian law and prevent the free flow of assistance.
• Yemen struggles, with minimal international funding, to cope with the continuing influx of Somali refugees.
• Multiple shocks have exacerbated the vulnerability of families and left millions trapped in hunger and poverty.

Donor performance

• Humanitarian funding has dropped: by October 2010 only 49 percent of the 2010 CAP had been covered.
• Donors are preoccupied with a development agenda despite the humanitarian crisis.
• Less than ten percent of the US$4.7 billion pledged for 2007-2010 at a major donor conference in Yemen has been provided.
• Primarily focused on the al-Qa’ida presence in Yemen, most Western donors have remained silent about government human rights abuses, do not push for humanitarian access and lack knowledge of GHD Principles.
• Substantial Gulf aid to the government and non-state actors is untransparent and unquantifiable – as is US support for the Yemeni military.

Key challenges and areas for improvement

• Donors need to engage more with in-country humanitarian actors, Yemeni civil society and opposition forces committed to democratic transition.
• Donors should see linkages between geostrategic objectives and humanitarian and development assistance: counter-terrorism objectives are best realised through fostering good governance and enabling the Yemeni state to provide basic services.
• Coordination between traditional donors and Gulf donors is essential to build capacity for early warning, contingency planning and recovery.
• The many aid actors who continue to see Yemen primarily through a development lens must acknowledge the scale of immediate life-threatening needs.

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