Over half Mazrak (Hajjah) camp's residents are children under 18 years old; many of them are malnourished. Picture: Hugh Macleod/IRIN.
Yemen is the poorest nation in the Middle East, and faces a range of deep-seated development challenges including high levels of poverty, food insecurity, high population growth, a weak economy and poor social service provision. It is unlikely to meet any of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Conflict in the north and the south of the country has displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians.
These development challenges were compounded by the political crisis and consequent increase of conflict in 2011. This resulted in a further deterioration of the economy and a humanitarian crisis marked by high levels of malnutrition and child mortality. Yemen entered a period of political transition in February 2012 with the election of an interim president. The transition, though fragile and far from assured, is the best chance in a generation to make progress towards a more secure and prosperous future for Yemen.
The goal of our programme is to support the success of Yemen's political transition directly, by supporting elections, citizen engagement and Government management of National Dialogue; and indirectly, by providing jobs and basic services and addressing immediate humanitarian needs to reduce citizens' sense of grievance. While supporting the transition in the short term, we are also tackling the underlying causes of under-development and poverty in Yemen.
Our programme in Yemen has the following priorities:
Providing emergency humanitarian assistance
We work through UN and NGO partners to deliver assistance to people in urgent need and building the resilience of people to future crises. In 2012/13 we will provide 300,000 people with emergency food assistance and 170,000 people with essential health services.
Tackling poverty, hunger and vulnerability
We help to provide basic services and social protection to Yemen's most vulnerable people. We will provide 42,000 people per year with paid work on public projects and protect 1.65 million women and children from malnutrition between 2012-15.
Supporting a successful political transition
We will support the transition directly and lay the groundwork for better governance in the long term by supporting elections, providing technical assistance to the Government and supporting the National Dialogue.
Supporting wealth creation
We provide technical assistance in the management of public finances and help stimulate private sector growth and job creation. We will create 2,700 new jobs and provide 44,700 people (60% women) with access to finance between 2012-15.