Independent evaluation: The performance of the UN agencies in Yemen was a failure and weak
English - Saturday 23 July 2022 الساعة 07:00 pm
Sana'a, NewsYemen:
An independent evaluation of the performance of UN agencies operating in Yemen from 2015 to date said UN agencies' operations were flawed in many ways, including poor quality, poor oversight, wasted aid, and an unacceptable lack of standards in many areas.
The assessment prepared by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee indicated that the aid provided to millions of needy people is of poor quality, and that despite spending $16 billion in this aspect, these agencies have failed to make fundamental improvements to the lives of ordinary Yemenis.
The evaluation accused the UN agencies of making Yemenis live on "means to support survival", stressing that this aid did not adequately reach the most needy groups, such as women and children.
While the evaluation criticized the weak oversight of the performance of United Nations staff, it pointed out that many camps for the displaced do not meet the minimum standards, and that there is insufficient focus on and understanding of the most vulnerable groups, where needs are only partially met.
The evaluation indicated that a very low percentage of those working on the response believed that the most urgent needs were being met, but concluded that collective targeting was weak, including for women and children, who were not getting enough.
According to the Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, the evaluation, which is located in more than 500 pages, indicated that poor quality and poor oversight harmed the effectiveness and efficiency of the response, as the process is carried out under very difficult conditions, and in light of the lack of capacity and the difficulty of movement as a result of external and internal bureaucracy and other obstacles.
All of this - according to the assessment - led to the response process being "suboptimal, although it achieved some measurable results", stressing that the lack of accountability and transparency led to the deterioration of relations between the relief operation, the authorities and the population.
The assessors found that while individual agencies are doing well, the collective system is arguably not working, recipient lists are not shared, critical services are not included, and there is no collective approach to mainstreaming protection and humanitarian principles.
The assessment states that there are agencies that do not act in harmony when facing political threats to the independence of their work, that there is a particular problem with data transparency, and that it is difficult to get a clear picture of any of them about the amount of needs and the level of coverage, and it is difficult to ascertain the level of confidence in numbers and analysis.
The evaluation harshly criticized the United Nations staff, saying that their staying behind their desks eroded confidence and the morale of other staff; Excessive measures to ensure the security of UN staff seriously eroded trust, and contributed to a lack of understanding of the needs of the Yemeni population, in the absence of direct contact with communities, considering that these measures contributed to low morale among aid workers.
The evaluation concluded that because of short-term planning and budgets for UN humanitarian response, poor oversight, and poor coordination among UN agencies, unprecedented funding spent since 2015 has kept Yemen on life support, but failed to make fundamental improvements in The lives of ordinary Yemenis.
Luis Seda, an ISD associate honorary associate and humanitarian specialist who led the inter-agency assessment team, said the UN operation in Yemen saved lives, “but despite the unprecedented $16 billion humanitarian operation, it remains Yemen is hanging by a thread.
He stressed that aid work through UN agencies has slowed, "but it has not prevented the collapse of basic services, and the situation remains incredibly fragile for most Yemenis."
