Yemen guide
|
| © New Internationalist |
Yemen is the poorest nation in the Arab region, due partly to its government’s predilection for military spending over health and education. The country’s most pressing development problems – poverty, water scarcity and population growth - compete for government attention with internal tensions, many of which are inflamed by the strategic partnership with the United States in the fight against terrorism. Equitable distribution of the benefits of an oil-dependent economy has proved elusive and may be further tested by the country's dependence on food imports.
updated May 2008
Poverty in Yemen
The Yemen Poverty Assessment published towards the end of 2007 concludes that, although overall poverty is declining, the rate of change and its characteristics are far behind the requirements of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). There has been virtually no improvement in rural areas since 1998 (the baseline year for Yemen); indeed in 3 out of 7 rural provinces poverty has significantly increased. The Assessment observes that the country’s oil-based economy benefits only an urban elite whilst 75% of the population lives outside of the cities.
This conclusion is reinforced by figures which show that the proportion of the population below the $1 per day MDG benchmark for extreme poverty has increased rather than reduced – from 10.7% in 1998 to 15.7% in 2005. Over 40% of the rural population remains below the higher non-food poverty line.
Poverty is linked to Yemen’s high adult illiteracy rate of 45% which in turn stems from the fact that 46% of primary age children are not in school. Furthermore, this average figure conceals the vastly lower enrolment rate for girls, which sinks to 30 per cent in rural areas. In an effort to reverse this trend, the Ministry of Education announced its decision to waive primary school tuition fees for female students. The Goal of education for all by 2015 is the only MDG predicted to be achieved in Yemen.
Inappropriate allocation of public funds is considered the primary reason for the lack of human development. In 2006, combined social spending was only 7% of GDP, less than the figure for defence, and also less than the figure for fuel subsidies which benefit the rich more than the poor. The government however draws attention to the low level of foreign aid compared with other countries of Least Developed Country (LDC) status, A 2006 donor conference brought pledges of $5 billion for the period 2007-2010, an big improvement but still a fraction of the vast sum of $48 billion estimated as the cost of attaining the MDGs in the Needs Assessment report for Yemen published in 2005.
Food Security in Yemen
The country was in the midst of its own food crisis before global food prices became headline news. Almost 13% of Yemenis exist below the food poverty line and the World Food Programme (WFP) is actively assisting 1.6 million people. 46% of children under-five are underweight compared with 30% in 1992.
The source of the problem is a long term decline in Yemen’s grain production brought about by inadequate attention to environmental sustainability, in particular depletion of groundwater and degradation of soil resources in a region highly prone to desertification. An investigation by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) warns that water basins may be depleted “in the very near future” unless Yemen introduces painful measures to halve both agricultural water consumption and the wastage in urban use. Furthermore, farmers have reported unusual delays in the onset of rains, a reminder that potential climate change creates additional uncertainty. Food security in Yemen is also seriously undermined by the use of good land for the cultivation of qat (a mild narcotic with amphetamine-like properties) which by contrast to grain production is increasing at over 10% pa and relies on traditional inefficient groundwater irrigation.
The consequence is that Yemen imports as much as 75% of its food requirements. Although protected by the parallel rise in the value of oil exports, the country is vulnerable to shortages in world stocks and its poorest households may have no mechanism to cope with astronomical prices. The WFP says that higher prices have already forced 6% of the population below the poverty line. In the longer term, economic vulnerability caused by the food deficit will rise as Yemen’s hydrocarbon reserves continue to diminish.
Health in Yemen
The water crisis has implications for health as well as agriculture. Per capita drinking water consumption in Yemen is just 2% of the global average - and sanitation in rural areas is almost entirely primitive. Malaria is a further threat to rural communities with over 800,000 cases reported annually.
A financially starved public health sector provides services only to about 50% of the population; the lack of reproductive health guidance in particular jeopardising maternal and child health. The 2005 Arab Human Development Report cites poverty and cultural attitudes to women, such as early marriage and segregation between the sexes, for the population growth rate of over 3% which is one of the highest in the world. With an average fertility rate of over 6 and only 16% of births assisted by a trained health worker, Yemen has a high maternal mortality rate.
Politics in Yemen
Despite the creation of the Republic of Yemen (ROY) in May 1990 and the establishment of democratic institutions, infighting and mistrust between factions of the liberal north and the socialist south saw civil war break out in 1994 resulting in the displacement of millions of people. The first round of parliamentary elections post civil war resulted in the General People's Congress (GPC) - the former ruling party of the North - capturing more than two-thirds of the seats. Yemen's first ever free and fair presidential elections in 1999 resulted in victory for Field Marshal Ali Abdullah Saleh who had previously filled the presidential role for both the Yemen Arab Republic (former North Yemen) and ROY.
The 2006 election saw the President facing real opposition for the first time, coming under public pressure on issues of corruption and unemployment. Nevertheless the final results gave Saleh 77.1% of the vote while his main challenger, Faisal bin Shamlan, a former minister and the main candidate of the coalition of opposition parties known as the Joint Meeting Parties (JMP), received 21.8%. If Saleh survives the term, he will have served for 36 years at the helm; recent constitutional amendments permit a president to serve a maximum of two seven-year terms.
In a bicameral legislature, the Shura Council (111 seats) is appointed by the president whilst the House of Representatives (301 seats) is elected by popular vote. The prime minister - currently Ali Muhammad Mujawwar - is appointed by the president (along with the vice president and deputy prime ministers). The 2008 demise of the speaker of parliament and head of the opposition Islah party has left an unsettling power vacuum in the country. Concerns about the separation of executive and judiciary, the lack of transparency with governance dominated by close associates of the president and an ineffective civil service are often cited as reasons for reluctant foreign aid support for Yemen. New procurement legislation and talk of establishment of an anti-corruption body represent the government’s response so far.
Yemen's civil society organizations have been active since the 1950s, playing crucial roles in the country's turbulent history. NGOs are expected to register with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour but have been known to work in relative freedom.
Conflict in Yemen
There were hopes that the devastating 1994 civil war would bring an end to years of distrust and malevolence. Although President Saleh's control is now regarded as extending across the country as a whole, there remain pockets of violent dissent, often provoked by resentment of the economic and political dominance of the powerful North. Rather than pursue social and political reform as a means of conflict resolution, the government has preferred traditional hardline tactics backed by subtle balancing of diverse tribal and sectarian interests.
Yemen has a 35% Shia minority amongst which the Zaidi Shiite sect based in the northwestern Sa’ada province are in rebellion, fighting for a return to traditional rule. Inspired by former leader Hussein al-Houthi who was killed in 2004 by government troops, the group calls itself The Young Believers. Hundreds of people have died on either side although numbers cannot be confirmed due to restrictions placed on foreign media access. Since the escalation of violent clashes in 2007 repeated attempts by the government of Qatar to broker a peace agreement have failed. Tension has continued to rise in early 2008 compounding the worsening humanitarian situation in the region. The International Committee of the Red Cross estimates that 100,000 people are in need of assistance, through a combination of forced displacement and poverty.
The president, himself a Zaidi, denounces the rebels, pointing fingers at Iran and its alleged involvement in the insurgency. His government’s strategy is duly supported by the US, reflecting Yemen’s recent role in the international political arena as an ally in the fight against terrorism. Although the Gulf War saw a freeze in US-Yemen relations, September 11 forced policy makers in the US to take a closer look at the porous borders of this small Arab nation. Not only is Yemen home to former militiamen of the USSR-Afghan war, but also to disgruntled Islamists - discontented partly by the government's failure to address poverty, corruption and economic stagnation and partly because of its close association with the US.
Yemen’s image as a potential recruiting ground for Al Qaeda operatives is reinforced by the 2000 bombing of the destroyer U.S.S. Cole and the 2002 attack on French supertanker Limburg. Al Qaeda militant Jamal al-Badawi, the architect of both the Cole and Limburg attacks, has surrendered to Yemeni security forces in exchange for judicial leniency. The country has been hit by a wave of terror attacks in 2007 and 2008 including the use of kidnapped foreign tourists as bargaining chips.
Human Rights in Yemen
The US led war on terror has indirectly sanctioned the harassment, illegal detention and imprisonment of political opponents and individuals involved in vocal criticism of government policies - on grounds of national security. Human rights watchdog organizations are also concerned about the imposition of death penalties and traditional punishments like flogging. Prison conditions come in for criticism, the Yemen Times describing the prison crisis as one of "human conscience".
Gender related statistics in Yemen are amongst the most discouraging in the Arab region. In a country of high unemployment, women are three times more likely to be unemployed than men. Amongst over 300 members of parliament there is just one solitary woman. A proposal for a quota system to ensure female participation in coming parliamentary elections was overwhelmingly rejected by political parties. In 2006 council elections only 137 women entered the contests against nearly 19,000 men.
As a gateway to the Gulf, Yemen is besieged with immigrants from the Horn of Africa - mostly Somalians hoping to escape civil strife that has ravaged their country since 1991. Poor conditions for Somali refugees in Yemen coupled with the threat of repatriation create increasing tension in their relationship with the government whose willingness to grant refugee status to Somalis is wearing thin. Although only about 100,000 Somalis are registered, most estimates acknowledge that there may be several times this number in Yemen and a parliamentary bill is being considered to clarify the status and rights of refugees in the country. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reports that in 2008 the numbers of people attempting the dangerous sea crossing has doubled. This is despite the appalling treatment by traffickers and risk of drowning.
Information and Media in Yemen
Radio is the most important means of communication to the majority rural populations in Yemen. The media in general is under increased scrutiny and harassment by government officials. Offices of southern based newspaper Al Ayyam came under gunfire for reporting on anti-government protests across Aden. Likewise, during the fighting in Sa'ada in 2007, the government closed down opposition websites accusing them of misreporting events.
On a positive note, the press law in Yemen is in the process of being amended in light of much scrutiny and criticism by journalists. For the moment, the clause in the original law which allowed the imprisonment of journalists has been abolished. A tight fist approach towards press freedom is still expected. Private ownership of television and radio stations is also banned under current legislation.
Merium Kazmi is a Pakistani national pursuing an M.A. in Development Policy from De La Salle University in Manila. She is presently working as an intern at UNDP Bahrain while simultaneously completing her masteral thesis on gender gap analysis.
---------
The Yemen Poverty Assessment published towards the end of 2007 concludes that, although overall poverty is declining, the rate of change and its characteristics are far behind the requirements of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). There has been virtually no improvement in rural areas since 1998 (the baseline year for Yemen); indeed in 3 out of 7 rural provinces poverty has significantly increased. The Assessment observes that the country’s oil-based economy benefits only an urban elite whilst 75% of the population lives outside of the cities.
This conclusion is reinforced by figures which show that the proportion of the population below the $1 per day MDG benchmark for extreme poverty has increased rather than reduced – from 10.7% in 1998 to 15.7% in 2005. Over 40% of the rural population remains below the higher non-food poverty line.
|
| A school in Yemen © Mohammad al-Jabri / IRIN News |
Inappropriate allocation of public funds is considered the primary reason for the lack of human development. In 2006, combined social spending was only 7% of GDP, less than the figure for defence, and also less than the figure for fuel subsidies which benefit the rich more than the poor. The government however draws attention to the low level of foreign aid compared with other countries of Least Developed Country (LDC) status, A 2006 donor conference brought pledges of $5 billion for the period 2007-2010, an big improvement but still a fraction of the vast sum of $48 billion estimated as the cost of attaining the MDGs in the Needs Assessment report for Yemen published in 2005.
Food Security in Yemen
|
| Malnutrition in Yemen © Mohammad al-Jabri / IRIN News |
The source of the problem is a long term decline in Yemen’s grain production brought about by inadequate attention to environmental sustainability, in particular depletion of groundwater and degradation of soil resources in a region highly prone to desertification. An investigation by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) warns that water basins may be depleted “in the very near future” unless Yemen introduces painful measures to halve both agricultural water consumption and the wastage in urban use. Furthermore, farmers have reported unusual delays in the onset of rains, a reminder that potential climate change creates additional uncertainty. Food security in Yemen is also seriously undermined by the use of good land for the cultivation of qat (a mild narcotic with amphetamine-like properties) which by contrast to grain production is increasing at over 10% pa and relies on traditional inefficient groundwater irrigation.
The consequence is that Yemen imports as much as 75% of its food requirements. Although protected by the parallel rise in the value of oil exports, the country is vulnerable to shortages in world stocks and its poorest households may have no mechanism to cope with astronomical prices. The WFP says that higher prices have already forced 6% of the population below the poverty line. In the longer term, economic vulnerability caused by the food deficit will rise as Yemen’s hydrocarbon reserves continue to diminish.
Health in Yemen
|
| Child health in Yemen © Mohammad al-Jabri / IRIN News |
A financially starved public health sector provides services only to about 50% of the population; the lack of reproductive health guidance in particular jeopardising maternal and child health. The 2005 Arab Human Development Report cites poverty and cultural attitudes to women, such as early marriage and segregation between the sexes, for the population growth rate of over 3% which is one of the highest in the world. With an average fertility rate of over 6 and only 16% of births assisted by a trained health worker, Yemen has a high maternal mortality rate.
Politics in Yemen
Despite the creation of the Republic of Yemen (ROY) in May 1990 and the establishment of democratic institutions, infighting and mistrust between factions of the liberal north and the socialist south saw civil war break out in 1994 resulting in the displacement of millions of people. The first round of parliamentary elections post civil war resulted in the General People's Congress (GPC) - the former ruling party of the North - capturing more than two-thirds of the seats. Yemen's first ever free and fair presidential elections in 1999 resulted in victory for Field Marshal Ali Abdullah Saleh who had previously filled the presidential role for both the Yemen Arab Republic (former North Yemen) and ROY.
|
| President Ali Abdullah Saleh © Mohamed al-Qadhi / United Nations' Integrated Regional Information Network |
In a bicameral legislature, the Shura Council (111 seats) is appointed by the president whilst the House of Representatives (301 seats) is elected by popular vote. The prime minister - currently Ali Muhammad Mujawwar - is appointed by the president (along with the vice president and deputy prime ministers). The 2008 demise of the speaker of parliament and head of the opposition Islah party has left an unsettling power vacuum in the country. Concerns about the separation of executive and judiciary, the lack of transparency with governance dominated by close associates of the president and an ineffective civil service are often cited as reasons for reluctant foreign aid support for Yemen. New procurement legislation and talk of establishment of an anti-corruption body represent the government’s response so far.
Yemen's civil society organizations have been active since the 1950s, playing crucial roles in the country's turbulent history. NGOs are expected to register with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour but have been known to work in relative freedom.
Conflict in Yemen
There were hopes that the devastating 1994 civil war would bring an end to years of distrust and malevolence. Although President Saleh's control is now regarded as extending across the country as a whole, there remain pockets of violent dissent, often provoked by resentment of the economic and political dominance of the powerful North. Rather than pursue social and political reform as a means of conflict resolution, the government has preferred traditional hardline tactics backed by subtle balancing of diverse tribal and sectarian interests.
|
| Yemen military in Sa'ada © Mohammad al-Jabri / IRIN News |
|
| 17 million weapons in Yemen © Edward Parsons / United Nations' Integrated Regional Information Network |
Yemen’s image as a potential recruiting ground for Al Qaeda operatives is reinforced by the 2000 bombing of the destroyer U.S.S. Cole and the 2002 attack on French supertanker Limburg. Al Qaeda militant Jamal al-Badawi, the architect of both the Cole and Limburg attacks, has surrendered to Yemeni security forces in exchange for judicial leniency. The country has been hit by a wave of terror attacks in 2007 and 2008 including the use of kidnapped foreign tourists as bargaining chips.
Human Rights in Yemen
The US led war on terror has indirectly sanctioned the harassment, illegal detention and imprisonment of political opponents and individuals involved in vocal criticism of government policies - on grounds of national security. Human rights watchdog organizations are also concerned about the imposition of death penalties and traditional punishments like flogging. Prison conditions come in for criticism, the Yemen Times describing the prison crisis as one of "human conscience".
|
| Women vendors in Yemen © United Nations' Integrated Regional Information Network |
As a gateway to the Gulf, Yemen is besieged with immigrants from the Horn of Africa - mostly Somalians hoping to escape civil strife that has ravaged their country since 1991. Poor conditions for Somali refugees in Yemen coupled with the threat of repatriation create increasing tension in their relationship with the government whose willingness to grant refugee status to Somalis is wearing thin. Although only about 100,000 Somalis are registered, most estimates acknowledge that there may be several times this number in Yemen and a parliamentary bill is being considered to clarify the status and rights of refugees in the country. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reports that in 2008 the numbers of people attempting the dangerous sea crossing has doubled. This is despite the appalling treatment by traffickers and risk of drowning.
Information and Media in Yemen
Radio is the most important means of communication to the majority rural populations in Yemen. The media in general is under increased scrutiny and harassment by government officials. Offices of southern based newspaper Al Ayyam came under gunfire for reporting on anti-government protests across Aden. Likewise, during the fighting in Sa'ada in 2007, the government closed down opposition websites accusing them of misreporting events.
On a positive note, the press law in Yemen is in the process of being amended in light of much scrutiny and criticism by journalists. For the moment, the clause in the original law which allowed the imprisonment of journalists has been abolished. A tight fist approach towards press freedom is still expected. Private ownership of television and radio stations is also banned under current legislation.
Merium Kazmi is a Pakistani national pursuing an M.A. in Development Policy from De La Salle University in Manila. She is presently working as an intern at UNDP Bahrain while simultaneously completing her masteral thesis on gender gap analysis.
---------
»
Your right of reply
Does this OneWorld Guide contain any inaccuracies?
Has something important been omitted?
Your views are welcome
»
Please write to the Editor Has something important been omitted?
Your views are welcome
Help us to include all developing countries
Many countries are missing from our range of Country Briefings. OneWorld wants to fill these gaps as part of our efforts to improve understanding of the issues faced by developing countries. We receive no funding for the production of our educational resources. Every small contribution helps!
Many countries are missing from our range of Country Briefings. OneWorld wants to fill these gaps as part of our efforts to improve understanding of the issues faced by developing countries. We receive no funding for the production of our educational resources. Every small contribution helps!
|
Printable version
top of the page