Literature Review and Bibliography
Literature review – Research on the general population of concern (must be relevant to the topic of stateless, refugee, or IDP) …what are the scholars (include at least three scholars’ discussion on the issue- articles or books) saying about the population generally —i.e. water refugees generally not specifically about your water refugee population i.e. the Syrian water refugees
Yemen humanitarian catastrophe
(Name)
(University)
Brief overview of the situation
An approximate 43% of the population in Yemen was accessed to be food insecure as of 2014. This population needs immediate assistance with 4.8 million facing food security emergency. Since 2014, the figures have being on the rise especially with the ongoing crisis and more people getting displaced. Political instability, civil insecurity, and hitherto localized conflicts have since become fully blown wars further jeopardizing an already volatile food crisis situation for many Yemenis.
The country imports 90-95% of its staple foods, the recurring conflict is further threatening to disrupt the market stability and distribution, food imports and transportation networks causing food prices to sky rocket for both the imports and locally produced food. Yemen relies heavily on foreign exchange from its large oil and gas reserves. Production and revenue from both reserves have being compromised by the ongoing conflicts interrupting the international prices leading to serious budgetary difficulties for the government.
The crucial social welfare and safety nets programs include the public works and budgetary support being implemented by the World Bank and the GCC countries have also being suspended. This leads to serious reduction in income reducing the consumption power from the public sector especially for the poor households relying on the sources. Government instituted austerity measures have highly reduced the public investment and project funding. In a situation where the budgetary crunch worsens government employees will have to be let go. 26% of the population relies on these employees as a source of livelihood. Losing their income generating activities may lead to civil strife and anarchy and more likely to worsen an already volatile situation.
The economic impact of conflict in Yemen
Yemen is one of the most food insecure countries in the Arab region and since 2011 crisis; Yemen has being facing a deteriorating food security crisis. The crisis are as a result of a web of perpetuating shocks such as social political unrest, human migrations, armed conflicts, and civil unrest in many parts of the country. Fast depleting natural resources such as water is also responsible for further worsening the situation.
75% of the population lives in the rural areas of the country with nearly half of this population being below the age of 15. The average rate of unemployment in the country is about 40% and highest among those between 15-24 and 25-29. Data from FAO and World Food Programme indicates that 10.1 million Yemenis face food insecurity emergency or crisis. The worst affected groups of people include children and women from among the small scale farmers and sharecroppers, landless laborers, nomadic herders, and artisanal fishermen scatters in the rural areas, poor urban neighborhood, and the internally displaced camps. Humanitarian effort is falling short due to a complex situation.
Since September 2014, renewed conflicts and political instability has made the situation to deteriorate thanks to the armed insurgency. Since 2011, Yemen was already facing localized and low level conflicts but this has since become a fully blown war. The existing political vacuum brought about by the resignation of the sitting government has further complicated an already complex situation. External military intervention and the intensification of armed clashes among the armed groups especially in the south have further worsened the food security issue. The situation risks increased displacement, deterioration of food security, and malnutrition.
The situation for the internally displaced is a struggle for survival. Food, water, and shelter are in serious shortage especially for the internally displaced. Many of the internally displaced people must endure miserable and inadequate conditions living in the overcrowded makeshift shelters exposed to many threats and with inadequate security. More than half of the population is faced with looming food crisis and the health care is only expected to worsen in the face of the ongoing conflict. The deteriorating conditions are further facilitating the spread of preventable communicable diseases such as cholera.
In 2015, the country lost an estimated 25-35% of the GDP as the violence picked up. These raging wars have led to high inflation and exchange rate pressures accounting to more than 15%. The collapse of the supply chain of critical goods and services, combine this with a strong recourse of monetary financing of the budget further exploit an already dire situation. The crisis and the impact of the economy exceed the borders to have an impact on the neighbors. Prices of food and rent increased in the neighboring nations to account for the internally displaced in Yemen. Countries bordering a high intensity conflict zone record a decline of 1.4 points of the annual GDP. Regression analysis indicates a sharp decline in the GDP growth rate.
As of 2014, Yemen recorded 334,626 internally displaced people fleeing conflict and violence. However the number also includes those displaced by flooding and drought. The IDPs and their host communities face serious security risks. The risk also exceeds the security but also encompasses issues such as lack of adequate shelter and basic services. Food insecurity and malnutrition are also common for the internally displaced. Moreover, serious human right abuse is common among the internally displaced. Local tradition such as arranged marriage and child marriage are prevalent, gender based violence and sex crimes are used as an alternative to escape from the IDP situation. Many IDP from the minority groups are exposed to massive discrimination.
The attainment of a durable solution for the Yemeni IDP is key to ensure peace and stability in the region. Political instability and the scarcity of livelihood assets are persistent drivers of the prevailing conflict in the region. Land and water disputes have led to continued clashes among different tribes. The control of various parts of the country by the armed groups, increased drug smuggling and abuse, and flooding of the Yemeni market with illegal firearms further complicates the issue. The Al-Houthi movement has taken advantage of the void left by the resignation of the government especially in the northern region. The movement has gained traction and to some attaining the support of the locals citing the movement as an advocate of the poor and delivering justice for the abuses committed by some of the tribesmen. The group is controlling local government, collecting taxes, and running checkpoints. Internal displacement is a major factor in the Yemen crisis, the IDPs are facing greater difficulty meeting their basic needs and protecting their rights than the general public.
Conclusion
Since the war broke out in March 2015, the fabric of the society has being disintegrating and the population of 27.4 million Yemenis suffering from untold hardships and misery. The situation in Yemen can be better framed as a humanitarian catastrophe and if not monitored and the situation arrested, many more people especially children will die from armed conflicts, lack of food and water, illness, and diseases.
Current hostilities highlighting the country are mired by years of successive conflicts, widespread insecurity and underdevelopment. The volatile situation facing Yemen has led to civilian casualties, mass displacement, worsening poverty, economic deprivation, deteriorating conditions, weakened public institutions, and a limited access to the service. More than 19 million people in Yemen are in need of serious humanitarian intervention.
