Dubai: Badly needed aid to impoverished Yemen is gradually resuming, with even more pledges from some donors, after its suspension in the past year due to political turbulence and instability, a senior UN official said.
Amat Al Aleem Ali Al Soswa, Assistant Secretary-General of the UN and Director of the Regional Bureau for Arab States of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), said there is a pressing requirement for aid in Yemen, which is now on the right path.
"I come from a school which believes security and stability can't be achieved without development. They can't be achieved through violent or military reaction," she told Gulf News in an interview during her recent visit to Yemen.
"I truly believe Yemen is putting its feet on the right path when we start working on this basis and handle the real reasons which led to the spread of instability," added Amat, who is also Assistant Administrator of the UNDP, in reference to the more than year-long protests calling for the stepping down of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh amid deteriorating living conditions.
Peaceful transition
Yemen's new president Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi took over in line with a Gulf-brokered deal. Hadi will serve for a two-year transitional period.
Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle pledged €265 million (Dh1,277 million) in aid to Yemen. During his visit to Sana'a at the weekend, he praised the "peaceful transition" of power in Yemen last month.
Yemen is "unfortunately" not receiving sufficient attention from donors whose numbers are "limited", Amat added.
"Some people believe that Yemen is like an open pot where billions of dollars are being poured. But in fact, this is not true," said the highly respected UN official, who is from Yemen.
"However, though these incidents were bad [protests and bloody confrontations with government troops], they could have brought the attention of donors."
She added the lesson learnt was that social and economic problems should not be ignored.
According to the UN, Yemen ranks 151 out of 177 countries on the Human Development Index, which measures life expectancy, education and standard of living. The several welfare programmes in place are, generally, considered "inadequate" to meet the needs of impoverished Yemenis.
Nearly half of the 24 million Yemeni population is considered impoverished, some reports noted. The UN body along with global and regional donors and supporters are planning to draw up a plan for economic and social aid to Yemen. Two upcoming meetings are scheduled to discuss aid to Yemen.
Military operations
The Friends of Yemen forum of aid donors in Riyadh in April will be preceded with another meeting, also in Riyadh called for by the Gulf Cooperation Council to discuss ways to meet the humanitarian needs of Yemenis, the UN official said.
However, the optimism Amat spoke of among many Yemenis of a better future coincided with increasing military operations against suspected terrorist targets. At least 18 people suspected of links with Al Qaida were killed in an evening attack launched by US troops in the central province of Al Bayda.
Earlier, some press reports said the US was planning to boost its operations against Al Qaida in Yemen. Sunday's press reports noted US officials said the Pentagon is planning to restart programmes that would fund military training and equipment in Yemen with about $75 million (Dh275 million) in assistance, nearly a year after they were shut down because of the political turmoil.
Asked whether the US military measures would affect UN humanitarian plans in Yemen, Amat said: "The UN measures don't allow the deployment of UN personnel [civilian employees] in areas of conflict and in areas where military campaigns are going on."
She didn't elaborate further.
