Yemen

Despite its rich history and striking architecture, with only 26 countries ranking lower than Yemen in the UNDP 2005 Human Development Index, Yemen is by far one of the poorest countries in the world. This status has major implications for the quality of life in Yemen particularly with regards to poverty and hunger. In Yemen, 40% of the population lives on less than $2 US a day and 46% of Yemen’s children are significantly underweight and malnourished. In fact, the latest figures show that there are only 9 other countries with a worse underweight problem.

Problems with poverty and hunger in Yemen stem from fairly recent political conflicts. Yemen is still recovering from two violent and bloody civil wars that occurred during the 1990s. Once it became reunified, Yemen’s main goal and focus became: to eradicate its poverty through economic development. Despite significant growth in GDP and political development—Yemen has successfully held two parliamentary elections since its unification—the gap between the rich and the poor in Yemen is still wide and pronounced. This is because growth is mostly attributed to exports in oil reserves which benefit those who are already well-off.

Water scarcity poses a significant challenge to eradicating poverty and promoting development, particularly because the agricultural sector is an important aspect of Yemen’s economy, particularly with regards to its majority population. Unfortunately, Yemen’s water resources are some of the scarcest in the region. Even more troubling is the fact that Yemen has a serious problem with groundwater depletion, further decreasing its water availability. Ultimately, this contributes to the fact that 40% of Yemen’s population does not have access to safe drinking water.

Although Yemen is often celebrated as a democratic state for holding two successful parliamentary elections, human rights and basic civil liberties continue to be a problem in this one-party state.

Human rights violations are manifested in Yemen’s approach to the media. Freedom of the press is a concern because of reported violations of and restrictions on the press. Journalists are reported to have been criminalized, arrested and detained for long periods of time, and harassed for unwanted or unflattering stories about the government. In one instance three journalists were detained and held for writing a story that the government claimed threatened its diplomatic relations with nearby Saudi Arabia.

The Yemeni justice system is also in dire need of improvement. In Yemen people may be held and detained for long periods of time with out charge, trial, or access to a lawyer. It was reported that in 2001 up to 200 people were held with out charge for having “extremist” views. Torture as well as cruel and unusual punishment are also reportedly practiced by the Yemeni government. For example, corporal punishment, flogging, forced amputations and stoning are still in practice according to Yemeni law. Even more disturbing are the inconsistencies with which the Yemeni government handles the death penalty. In some cases families of people given the death penalty can pay a diya (blood money) and have sentences lessened. Appeals and pardons with regards to the death penalty are also not equally available to everyone.

Women’s rights in Yemen are almost nonexistent and are a major concern for human rights advocates. Domestic violence is a major problem. Honor killings, where men kill women who are accused of dishonoring their families, are prevalent in Yemen. Sadly, men who kill women in this fashion often face lesser sentences than those for murder. Female genital mutilation also occurs in Yemen.

As is the case everywhere else in the world, Yemen has its own problems with human trafficking. It is both a source of and destination for human trafficking. Yemeni children are reportedly trafficked from Yemen to Saudi Arabia for the purposes of sexual exploitation. In Yemen itself, people—mainly Women and young girls—may be trafficked from rural regions to cities for the same purposes. Yemen is also reportedly a destination country for victims trafficked from Iraq.

Although there are cases the HIV/AIDS rate in Yemen is very low, reportedly less than 1%. Despite these low rates, however, some studies show that it is a problem that is beginning to grow. The low prevalence of HIV/AIDS may be due to the Yemen’s cultural context. A country that is largely Islamic, extramarital affairs, sex work, drugs, and homosexuality are taboo and condemned. The cases of HIV/AIDS that are recorded are mainly contracted from heterosexual sex. Unfortunately, of those people that do contract HIV/AIDS, many are often stigmatized, blamed and ostracized for contracting the virus/disease. There exist problems with HIV/AIDS surveillance because of poverty and development in Yemen, as well as cultural problems; these may contribute to the poor recording and lack of data on HIV/AIDS in Yemen.

Tuberculosis and Malaria are other health problems Yemen faces. Ironically these are very preventable but account for much of the mortality rate amongst young children. Other leading causes of child mortality are respiratory diseases and malnutrition. Amongst women, maternal deaths account for around 42% of deaths amongst women ages 15-49. In Yemen disease seems to be preventable, yet accounts for much illness and death. Poverty, lack of adequate health care or facilities, and lack of education accounts for this discrepancy.

Water scarcity poses the biggest threat to Yemen in terms of environmental problems. Yemen’s natural environment contributes to water scarcity; however Yemen also suffers from soil erosion, and desertification. The oil industry—a major industry in Yemen—contributes to water pollution which further depletes their already scarce water resources. Sewage and water salinization are other factors contributing to water pollution. Despite scare water, 92% of the renewable water resources is used in agriculture and 1% in industry, this might account for the fact that 40% of Yemen’s population does not have access to safe drinking water. Due to agriculture—another major industry in Yemen—overgrazing and deforestation in the country’s mountainous regions are also a problem. Despite attempts at addressing environmental concerns, like with many other developing countries, economic issues are prioritized over environmental problems.

There is very little data concerning education and literacy in Yemen. It is known, however, that basic educational opportunities and enrollment have increased significantly within the past thirty years. For instance, the government does spend nearly 33% of government expenditures on education. Sadly, due to Yemen’s impoverished state, even one third of government expenditures are miniscule.

Schooling is not free, and is also associated with high costs thus there are gaps between urban and rural, as well as male and female education. These gaps create serious inequalities in further perpetuate the lack of access to education.

In spite of this a recent UNESCO survey found that 63% of females and 87% of males are enrolled in basic primary education. Unfortunately, after primary education, enrollment rates dwindle significantly. As of 2004, 31% of females and 64% of males are enrolled in secondary education. This, coupled with the fact that only 9% of population—compared with 82% in the United States—is enrolled in tertiary education allows for an average adult literacy rate of only 68%.

Partners for Development-Yemen - Mission: To provide support and assistance to refugees in Yemen as an implementing partner of UNHCR, and to support the Yemeni community through various health and education projects.

United Nations Volunteers - Mission: Volunteering brings benefits to both society at large and individual volunteer. It makes important contributions, economically as well as socially. It contributes to more cohesive society by building trust and reciprocity among citizens.

The United Nations Volunteers is the UN organization that supports sustainable human development globally through the promotion of volunteerism and the mobilization of volunteers. It serves the causes of peace and development through enhancing opportunities for participation by all peoples. It is universal, inclusive and embraces volunteer action in all its diversity. It values free will, commitment, engagement and solidarity, which are the foundations of volunteerism.