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Yemen
Please note: All linked documents are in PDF format
| Objective |
SO Number |
FY 2004 |
FY 2005 |
FY 2006 |
| Reproductive, Maternal and Child Health Services | 279-005 |
5,140 |
7,574 |
9,975 |
| Basic Education, Especially for Women and Girls | 279-006 |
3,270 |
4,996 |
12,703 |
| Increased Income Opportunities and Food Security | 279-007 |
2,342 |
1,770 |
4,089 |
| Expanded Democracy and Governance in Yemen | 279-008 |
680 |
540 |
3,233 |
|
Total (in thousands of dollars) |
11,432 |
14,880 |
30,000 |
|
The Development Challenge: Following the unification of Marxist South Yemen and North Yemen in 1990, the new Republic of Yemen Government (ROYG) made impressive progress with the establishment of a constitutional government, a parliamentary system with multiparty elections, and laws to strengthen non-governmental organizations. The new Government began to decentralize resource allocation decisions and local management of social services, and define development goals. The ROYG demonstrated a strong commitment to stabilization and reform through price and market liberalization, fiscal prudence, liberalization of foreign exchange and trade, and striving to cut foreign debt and increase foreign exchange reserves. Recently, economic reform has slowed, and Yemen's internal stability is threatened by a combination of forces challenging the Government's movement to increased democracy. These forces include extreme poverty, Islamic extremism, internal and international terrorism, and the alienation from the central Government by relatively independent tribal leaders in remote areas.
Despite progress made over the last decade, Yemen remains one of the least developed countries in the world and ranks 148 out of 175 countries on the United Nations Development Programme's Human Development Index (2003). It has a per capita gross domestic product of $460. Forty-two percent of the people live in poverty (45% in rural areas) and one in five is malnourished. Yemen's 18.5 million population, which is predominantly rural, faces enormous economic and social challenges. Among the major problems are limited access to basic services, a very high fertility rate (6.7%), high illiteracy rates especially among females (73.5%), high unemployment (40%), significant gender inequality, diminishing oil reserves, and a non-renewable water supply, which is dwindling at an alarming rate.
Thus, poverty reduction remains Yemen's most compelling challenge. To make a significant impact on poverty reduction, Yemen must increase its focus on rural communities, where 75% of the population resides. The rugged terrain, which has already been a significant challenge for agricultural development and service delivery, will present a challenge for this task as well.
The USAID Program: USAID's overall goal in Yemen is to support the United States Government's (USG) foreign policy objectives in the war on terrorism by helping to develop a healthy and educated population with access to diverse economic opportunities. To gain support from tribal leaders for government decentralization, development, democracy, and counterterrorism objectives, the USAID/Yemen program is helping to create jobs, increase income, improve health, education, and community empowerment, and strengthen democratic institutions. The program focuses on the five target governorates of Amran, Sa'ada, Al-Jawf, Marib, and Shabwa, long known to be the main sources of, and havens for, domestic and international terrorism in Yemen.
USAID/Yemen is requesting FY 2005 and FY 2006 ESF funds for four strategic objectives. These four strategic objectives will improve the delivery of tangible, practical support in basic sectors (health, education, agriculture, and democracy and governance) that touch the lives of the average Yemeni living in the target governorates. FY 2005 funds will be used primarily to implement ongoing programs to increase access to reproductive, maternal and child health services, and basic education, especially for women and girls. The specific activities to be funded with FY 2005 and FY 2006 appropriations are described in more detail in the Yemen's Congressional Budget Justification.
Other Program Elements: USAID/Yemen has focused its resources on activities in the health and education sectors -- two areas that are in dire need of support in Yemen, especially in the five targeted governorates. USAID/Yemen has been able to significantly leverage its funds by partnering with other U.S. Government agencies such as the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) at the State Department, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) [P.L. 480 and 416(b)], and the Department of Defense (DOD). Partnering with MEPI has allowed the Mission to strengthen its democracy and governance program, enabling the Mission to conduct significant work in decentralization implementation and parliamentary reform. The Mission has also leveraged its funds in agriculture, health, and education by working closely with the U.S. Embassy as the Embassy programs USDA P.L. 480 and 416(b) funds to build more schools, hospitals, and implement numerous agricultural projects such as research and extension at the village level, integrated livestock development, horticulture marketing, support for the Ministry of Agriculture, and the building of roads. In addition, USAID/Yemen has partnered with DOD to construct a school in Saada and intends to expand cooperative partnerships with DOD in FY 2005 and 2006.
Other Donors: USAID/Yemen coordinates very closely with the donor community to assure that the impact of relatively scarce donor resources is maximized in response to the overwhelming development needs in Yemen. The United States is the number one bilateral donor in Yemen, followed by the Netherlands, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Japan. Multilateral donors include the World Bank, the European Union, United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Population Fund, United Nations Children's Fund, World Health Organization, United Nations World Food Programme, International Fund for Agricultural Development, and Abu-Dhabi Fund. Very few donors work in the five remote governorates targeted by USAID. U.S. development efforts in these governorates are seen as the vanguard in opening up other donor assistance programs to Yemen's critical areas.
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