SANA'A: On Wednesday, OXFAM called on the international community to immediately resume their financial help towards Yemen as the country was in dire need for assistance after 11 months of a popular uprising punctuated by armed clashes and a meltdown of state institutions. Several economists and organizations such as the World Bank have warned that Yemen was facing an unprecedented economic, financial, industrial and humanitarian crisis, warning that if left unchecked Yemen could sink into a similar crisis to that witness in the Horn of Africa, bringing further instability in the region. OXFAM urged government to intervene swiftly as it was women, the elderly and children who most of all were suffering from the current situation, with several tens of thousands of families displaced nationwide with little to no mean to provide for themselves. Already the poorest country of the Arabic Peninsula even before the popular uprising started with a reported $2 per day per inhabitant on average, Yemen is now facing levels of malnutrition amongst children never witnessed before. Some 7.5 million people – go hungry every day, and child malnutrition rates are dangerously high, particularly in rural areas. Basic services, such as health clinics, are struggling to function. Although several donors, said OXFAM promised to increase their funding of humanitarian work, the cash has yet to come through, and delays are endangering the most vulnerable. “‘Friends of Yemen' and the Gulf Cooperation Council member states – must also step up their leadership towards building a transparent and inclusive transition process that includes ordinary Yemenis and civil society. United Nations Security Council members should explicitly uphold their obligations to improve women's participation in the transition process,” said OXFAM. BM
