Documented international research condemns the futility of international organizations
English - Tuesday 22 March 2022 الساعة 05:52 pm
Sana'a, NewsYemen:
An investigative report said that humanitarian aid in Yemen does not reach the affected people as it should, stressing that the aid is diverted to other destinations, and that corrupt practices have caused a weak and poor humanitarian response to the humanitarian crisis.
This came according to two reports launched by the Sana’a Center for Studies, on Monday, that explained how the international humanitarian response in Yemen has failed.
The reports by researcher Sarah Volstick, who worked in 2019 as the access coordinator for the United Nations World Food Program in Yemen, are based on facts and interviews with 73 officials, humanitarian aid workers, analysts, experts, donors, and civil society representatives, in addition to hundreds of documents.
Several experts in the report described the humanitarian response in Yemen as among the worst, if not the worst, they have ever worked in.
The second highest response in the world
According to the report, the large amount of funding from the donors' conference to fund the United Nations organizations in Yemen gave the poorest country in the Arabian Peninsula the second most expensive response in the world after Syria.
Over the past six years, the United Nations has received more than $18 billion; To fund humanitarian response plans in Yemen, however, the numbers of people affected by the crisis are still escalating.
Last week, the organization called for $4.3 billion to help 17 million Yemenis, but donors pledged $1.3 billion, prompting Martin Griffiths, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, saying, "We are disappointed."
The report found that the vast majority of those who received aid in Yemen deemed it inappropriate to their needs, and many of the most vulnerable people were excluded from receiving aid, especially women, people with disabilities and those from the lower social classes.
Is Yemen really experiencing the worst humanitarian crisis?
The report questioned the portrayal of Yemen as suffering the worst and largest humanitarian crisis, according to data that compared Yemen, Syria, Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan.
He said that the narrative formulated and reinforced by those who lead the international response in Yemen at both the humanitarian and political levels, from the incumbents in Yemen to the senior humanitarian leadership in New York, Geneva and Rome, centered on the fact that Yemen is witnessing the worst humanitarian crisis, on the brink of famine, and suffering from neglect, extremely underfunded, extremely dangerous.
But when looking at the numbers, and using the internationally accepted definitions and criteria that are relied upon to make such judgments in global responses, this description is simply not correct in either absolute or relative terms.
"Saying that Yemen is worse off or on the verge of famine is probably incorrect," the report said. "This story is a tried and proven success in obtaining funding, but it will not withstand any scrutiny."
False and biased data
According to the research report, the humanitarian response in Yemen has failed to accept data that is classified as biased, which makes it easy to manipulate.
According to the report, these data represented a starting point for looking at the humanitarian response, as no needs assessments were carried out at the beginning of the response in 2015, and after five years since the start of the response, it was not possible to complete 60% of data collection.
The 2021 UN Humanitarian Response Plan acknowledged the lack of comprehensive country-level data in Yemen.
The available data was of poor quality, and was often collected by authorities who are party to the conflict and have vested interests in how much aid is provided and where it ends up, according to the report.
"While these data can be highly biased, they are reliable even when they are too limited or defective to the point of being unrepresentative or lacking in contextual analysis," he said.
The report quoted some of those interviewed as saying that they do not have much confidence in the accuracy of the needs that are portrayed in Yemen, and often point to a lack of reliable data.
"Basing assessments on flawed data inevitably leads to a wrong response," they added.
frustration and anger
According to the report, in the seventh year of the humanitarian response, reports from Yemen appear bleak, as diversions of aid, corrupt practices, restricted access to aid, and a lack or diminishment of the space for humanitarian operations have been well documented.
He added that the challenges and obstacles to needs assessment and response in Yemen are often attributed to the restrictive operating environment and obstacles created by the authorities, particularly the armed Houthi movement, which controls the north and is the part of Yemen that contains the largest population.
A report said that many humanitarian workers went into and out of Yemen feeling frustrated and angry, describing the aid delivery system as inflexible, ineffective and inappropriate.
more appropriate response
The research report urged the need for United Nations organizations to acknowledge that the current humanitarian response is suboptimal, and to start a comprehensive analysis with the aim of creating a more appropriate and targeted response, taking into account the reformulation of the response according to the root causes of the crisis, and that life-saving assistance is required.
He also urged reframing the argument and foundations of support for Yemen with a clear and consistent message that Yemen's problems cannot be resolved with humanitarian assistance.
He stressed the importance of separating data collection and needs analysis from fundraising and agency interests, and this necessitated abandoning exaggerated or false narratives.
The report called on donors to fund independent field reviews of aid efficiency, and to stop funding organizations that use conflict parties as implementing partners.
He also called for the need to demand transparency and proper accountability from the United Nations and humanitarian organizations.
