Yemen

Oxfam staff member killed in Yemen

May 27, 2021

Oxfam confirms the death of colleague Fathi Mahmoud Ali Salem Al-Zurigi in Yemen on the evening of Tuesday May 25, after a shooting incident on Monday May 24.

Fathi, a Yemeni citizen, 42, was traveling with another Oxfam colleague and a contracted driver when they were caught in what appears to be a crossfire at a checkpoint in southern Yemen, traveling to Aden. The three men were taken to hospital where Fathi succumbed to his injuries. The driver is still in intensive care, and stable; the second Oxfam staff member was discharged earlier in the day. Oxfam has no reason to believe the three people were targeted. All security protocols were being followed at the time of the incident.

Fathi had been with Oxfam for more than six years. He was the agency’s Senior Logistics Officer, working on Oxfam’s program response in Yemen.

“It is a heart-wrenching sadness to lose a colleague particularly in such terrible circumstances, someone who was working in his own home country for the humanitarian cause, trying to help his fellow citizens. Humanitarian workers across the world, like Fathi, risk their own lives every day. We stand in solidarity with them all. Our thoughts and sympathies are with Fathi’s family and loved ones,” said Oxfam International Executive Director Gabriela Bucher.

Yemen at tipping point as Covid-19 second wave hits amid renewed fighting and famine fears – Oxfam

March 23, 2021

Evidence is mounting that a second wave of Covid-19 is already underway in Yemen, Oxfam warned today, with a 22-fold increase in recorded cases in recent weeks. It comes at a time when it is feared renewed fighting will force hundreds of thousands of people to flee to safety.

Oxfam said that a second spike would be devastating for a country entering its seventh year of war. The UN is already warning that Yemen faces the worst famine the world has seen for decades and amid intense fighting in Marib governorate which it is feared will force almost 400,000 people to flee. The arrival of the rainy season – expected in May – is expected to see a renewed threat from cholera, which combined with Covid will overwhelm a health system battered by six years of war and economic collapse. Despite this huge level of need Yemen’s aid programme is more than 50 per cent underfunded.

Recorded cases of Covid in the first two weeks of March were 22 times higher than the number of cases in the first two weeks of February. The figures indicate a sharp rise in the number of people being admitted to healthcare facilities with severe symptoms as these are the only people who are tested.

Muhsin Siddiquey, Oxfam’s Country Director in Yemen said: “Yemen is at a tipping point – millions of people are already teetering at the edge of a precipice, now Covid, cholera and an intensification of the conflict threatens to push them over.

“In cities around the country people are living through intensified fighting and a second Covid spike. Many people don’t go to hospital when they have symptoms – even where treatment is available many cannot afford medical bills.

“With little testing, we can’t quantify the true scale of the problem, but we do know that Covid is accelerating fast. I’m hearing daily of fresh tragedies – people who have died of Covid-like symptoms without receiving medical attention.”

Oxfam said it was concerned that by forcing people to flee for safety, the recent surge in fighting will speed the spread of the virus around the country.

The escalation in hostilities around Marib, where a number of Covid cases have been reported recently, is one of a number of worrying developments as the war in Yemen enters its seventh year. Renewed fighting around Taiz, Hajjah, Hudaydah and Aldhale’e which have seen multiple airstrikes and renewed tensions in Aden and have brought fresh misery to those cities.

Since February, more than 11,000 IDPs in Marib have been displaced again, with some entire camps forced to evacuate. Many have been displaced four or five times as the frontlines of Yemen’s war have shifted. Local officials have told Oxfam they think the UN figure is an underestimate and as many as 3 million people are actually displaced in the area.

More than 4 million people have so far been displaced by the conflict and nearly 68 per cent of Yemenis need humanitarian assistance. The UN estimates 1.2 million people have fled to Marib, which until recently was considered relatively safe and hosts the largest internally displaced population in Yemen.

Muhsin Siddiquey said: “People in Marib are desperate, they face a stark choice between staying put risking their lives and their children’s lives or fleeing into the desert where there is no water or food.

“In cities around the country people are living through intensified fighting and a second Covid spike. I’m hearing terrible reports of children being killed, houses in residential districts being hit and people being forced to flee.”

Official figures record 3418 cases and 751 deaths from Covid in Yemen giving a mortality rate of nearly 22 per cent – one of the highest in the world. But with little testing and widespread reports of illness and deaths, the actual Covid death toll is undoubtedly far higher. So far no-one in

Yemen has been vaccinated against Covid, although the country is expecting to receive vaccines later this month.

Yemen’s health system is estimated to be operating at half of its pre-war capacity despite the massively increased need for it. Many healthcare staff have been unpaid for months while there are just 700 ICU beds and 500 ventilators for a population of 30 million.

The country has struggled with cholera since the world’s worst outbreak began five years ago with more than 2 million reported cases.

Earlier this month the UN held a donor pledging conference asking for $3.85 billion but received less than $1.7 billion, less than was received in 2020 and $1 billion less than the amount pledged at the 2019 conference.

Muhsin Siddiquey, Oxfam’s Country Director in Yemen said: ““Even people who escape the missiles and bullets face a daily struggle to survive in the face of disease and destitution. Yemenis have suffered for six long years – it is time for the world to say, enough.

“This is a man-made conflict and these deaths are avoidable. With efforts from the UN Envoy and a recommitment to peace from the new US administration, the international community must seize this moment to collectively pressure all sides to end the suffering. Peace is possible if governments put lives ahead of politics.”

/ends

Notes for editors:

The international escalation of conflict in Yemen occurred on March 26^th 2015.

Case studies from Marib available on request

Yemen 2021 Humanitarian needs overview https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Yemen_HNO_2021_Final.pdf

Yemen covid data – https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/mortality

Covid Vaccine distribution https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/covid-vaccine-tracker-global-distribution/

2018 Hudaydah displacement figures : https://www.iom.int/news/yemen-hudaydah-displaced-population-now-estimated-336846

https://www.iom.int/sites/default/files/situation_reports/file/en_iom_yemen_displacement_in_marib_flash_update_5_11_march_2021.pdf

Local officials estimate 3 million IDPs in Marib https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/iom-yemen-displacement-marib-flash-update-23-february-2021

Between April 2017and December 2018, there were over 1.3million suspected cholera cases and 2,760 associated deaths in the country –one of the worst outbreaks in recent history.(UN YHNO –December 2018)

The World Health Organisation reported an increase in suspected cholera cases in 2019, with over 861,000 suspected cases and 1025associated deaths recorded. http://yemeneoc.org/bi/

Between January 1^st and June 30th 2020 there have been 150, 849 suspected cases recorded

https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/2019_Yemen_HNO_FINAL.pdf

Nearly 40 per cent of Yemen families forced into debt to pay for essentials – Oxfam

February 18, 2021

Nearly two out of every five families in Yemen buy food and medicines using debt, according to Oxfam research published today.

Yemeni families are trapped in a cycle of informal debt, living precariously and reliant on good will of shopkeepers as they lurch from one month to the next.

Many told Oxfam they can’t borrow the money they need for essentials unless shopkeepers know they have a monthly income and for many this means the money they receive from humanitarian agencies.

Last year, donors only provided half of the aid money needed for the world’s largest humanitarian crisis and with the 2021 UN humanitarian need budget for Yemen due out imminently, Oxfam is urging the international community to be generous when pledging funds.

The research found that Yemeni shopkeepers estimate that the number of families using debt to buy food has risen by 62 per cent since the conflict in Yemen started in 2015. Pharmacists in Yemen estimate an increase of 44 per cent in debt being used to purchase medicines.

Layla Mansoor,31, and her family were forced to flee from their home in an active conflict zone in Hodeidah three years ago – they escaped with barely more than the clothes on their backs. Layla says she is often in debt to the shops she buys their food from and each month they owe between 10,000 and 12,000 YER (around USD $11-$15). Her family can’t afford to eat meat or fish except on rare occasions. She said:” At the moment we’re living a nightmare. Thankfully, until now, we haven’t needed any kind of medical treatment – but I’m afraid that we won’t afford it, if one day we do.”

Ibrahim Alwazir who carried out the research for Oxfam in Yemen said: “To struggle this hard to be able to provide food and medicine for one’s family is an avoidable hardship that millions have to overcome on a daily basis. We need peace so no more Yemenis are forced to flee their homes and live in poverty. Peace will allow people to rebuild their lives and businesses, but we need support to help communities to do that. This war has turned my country into the world’s largest humanitarian crisis and it’s only getting worse. We all just want to get back to normal life.”

Some 24.3 million Yemenis, over 53 per cent of the population, currently need humanitarian assistance. This year, 16.2 million Yemenis will rely on food aid to survive, with 17.9 million lacking access to healthcare in a country where only half of health facilities are fully functional. It is estimated that in parts of Yemen one in five children are severely malnourished and will grow up with life-long medical conditions if they do not get more food.

Oxfam, along with other agencies in Yemen, provides support for struggling families in the form of cash transfers which allows people to choose what they buy and helps stimulate local markets.

Many families who are struggling with debt say that they are living permanently in arrears – using their transfer to pay off what they owe and then run up more debt as they wait for their next aid payment. This situation is worsening because high levels of inflation, fuelled by the conflict, mean that the value of money is decreasing. In practical terms the same amount of cash buys fewer groceries each month.

Hind Qassem, 45, was pregnant with her tenth child when her husband was killed by an artillery shell forcing her to flee with her children. At first, they lived under a plastic sheet, relying on leftovers given by neighbouring families. Three of her sons suffer from sickle cell anaemia and need blood transfusions every month. She said: “Now, I receive YER 45,000 (around US$70) every month, yes, it is not enough to cover all our needs but it helps a lot. I am now able to pay for my children’s treatment and buy some flour and vegetables for us to eat. Shops will now allow us to buy food on credit because we are receiving monthly assistance.”

Food shop and pharmacy owners both told Oxfam staff that they allow customers to buy items on credit because they sympathise with the harsh difficulties they are facing. Some also said that it makes economic sense for their business and pharmacy owners also said they did not want to feel responsible for someone’s death if they refused credit for medicines.

Grocery store owner Abdulkareem Salaeh from Sana’a said: “We are left with no choice (but to offer credit) people are desperate, and we are struggling to keep the business going. While some are able to pay, others can’t and that’s a problem. We only agree to lend people with a reliable source of income, like employees, business owners, daily wage labourers or those receiving humanitarian aid, else it will be a loss that we can’t afford. We are barely able to cover operational costs and the costs of goods we sell. It’s unfortunate!”

Grocery shop owners have told Oxfam that debt is most often used to buy basic commodities like bread, flour, sugar, rice, legumes and cooking oil. In pharmacies, debt is typically used to buy medicines for diabetes and high blood pressure or for fevers and diarrhoea in rural areas.

Concerned business owners told Oxfam that they feel the debt situation is unsustainable as their customers are increasingly unable to pay off all their debt each month and so the rising levels of debt their businesses are carrying mean their future is looking uncertain.

If business owners stop allowing them credit people will be unable to eat, driving higher levels of malnourishment. Oxfam is also worried that if shop owners do not have funds to replenish stock the resulting shortages will drive food prices even higher.

Notes to editors:

Research findings are based on 30 surveys by Oxfam in Yemen of grocery and pharmacy store owners across Sana’a, Hajjah, Ibb and Aden Governorates in November and early December 2020. All surveys were collected near poor and densely populated neighbourhoods within cities and suburban areas, with some of them being close to IDP settlements where humanitarian aid groups are active

Oxfam is supporting Raghad Jubran, one of 1690 families (11,830 people) in Bani Thawab sub-district of Abs district in Hajjah governorate.

Aid relief information and update

Health care facility information from UN Yemen HRP 2020

Figures for numbers facing starvation and reliant on food aid taken from here

Child malnutrition figures from UNICEF

For more information, or to arrange an interview please contact:
Kelsey-Rae Taylor on [email protected] or 021 298 5894

13.5 million people face starvation if US designation of Houthis blocks aid and food delivery

January 20, 2021

13.5 million people in Yemen will be pushed towards starvation by the US designation of Ansar Allah, commonly known as the Houthis, as a terrorist organization. The designation comes into effect today and will seriously affect vital food imports to the country and humanitarian assistance, Oxfam warned.

Muhsin Siddiquey, Oxfam’s Country Director in Yemen, said: “Around 50,000 Yemenis are already facing starvation. This designation is devastating for them and for the millions more who rely on food aid. The tragic fact is that people will die if food imports are disrupted.

“We desperately need the US to immediately reverse this decision in order to avert catastrophe. Yemen imports 88% of its food supply but food importers have told us that the designation means they can no longer operate. I’ve also been told by a major grain importer that there is less than one month’s supply in their warehouse. People need food – if it can’t be brought into the country how can they eat?”

The United States government’s designation of Ansar Allah means that Oxfam has been forced to immediately pause its support to up to 245,000 people due to restrictions on contributions from private donors in the United States. The flow of remittances – a vital source of income for food insecure people across the country – will also be severely impacted.

Oxfam warned that the effects of this decision will not be confined to the areas controlled by Ansar Allah only and will affect the country as a whole. Oxfam is calling on the US government to reverse both group designations of Ansar Allah, the Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) designation and the Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) designation. While all sides of the conflict have committed violations of international law and unacceptable violent attacks against civilians, the designation will not provide justice or accountability to any of their victims. It will only compound the suffering of Yemen’s most vulnerable people.

Siddiquey explained: “Importers have told us they are worried that banks will no longer be able to do business with them. In any case, over 58% of Yemen’s grain is imported through two ports in Houthi controlled territory, Hodeida and Saleef. Even if ships could divert to government-controlled Aden, the port simply could not cope with the extra cargoes. Food supplies would be drastically reduced and, most importantly, prices would skyrocket.

“It is an ongoing, unforgivable tragedy that people in Yemen are suffering from malnutrition and lack of water in plain sight of the whole world. Yemenis deserve to live in a country without conflict where their children have a future.”

The US government designation is coming at the worst possible time for Yemeni people. After six years of deadly conflict, aid to Yemen has already been cut by half with only 50 per cent of the US$3.38 billion needed received by the end of December 2020.

Notes to Editors:

Spokespeople available in Yemen.

For more information contact Tania Corbett [email protected] / +44 7824 824 359

Figures for food imports to Yemen are here: https://www.acaps.org/sites/acaps/files/products/files/20201216_acaps_yemen_analysis_hub_food_supply_chain.pdf

Aid relief information and update – https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-humanitarian-update-issue-12-december-2020

Figures for numbers facing starvation and reliant on food aid taken from here – https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/under-secretary-general-humanitarian-affairs-and-emergency-relief-coordinator-mark-35

G20 arms exports to Saudi Arabia worth three times aid to Yemen since 2015 – Oxfam

November 18, 2020

Other members of the G20 have exported more than US$17bn worth of arms to Saudi Arabia since it became involved in the conflict in Yemen in 2015 but have given only a third of that amount in aid to people caught in the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis, Oxfam said today.

The G20 heads of state are due to meet virtually later this week at a summit hosted by Saudi Arabia. Arms sales to the Gulf nation could come under fresh scrutiny as the US president-elect, Joe Biden, is on the record as saying he would stop arms sales to Saudi Arabia that fuel the war in Yemen.

After five years of conflict, Yemen was already suffering the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis with 10 million people going hungry, the largest cholera outbreak on record and only half of hospitals fully functioning. Oxfam reported in August that there has been one air raid every ten days on hospitals, clinics, wells and water tanks throughout the war.

The arrival of coronavirus has only worsened these dire circumstances. And yet the United Nations’ response plan to get clean water, food and medical care to the most vulnerable, is only 44% funded this year.

Saudi Arabia’s decision to lead a coalition of eight countries in support of the internationally recognised government in Yemen escalated the conflict and has been responsible for all air raids over more than five years. When arms exports by G20 nations to other members of this coalition are included, the figure of $17bn rises to at least US$31.4bn between 2015 and 2019, the last year for which records are available. That’s more than five times the amount those member nations of the G20 have given in aid to Yemen between 2015 and 2020. In addition, Saudi Arabia has given $3.8bn in aid.

Muhsin Siddiquey, Oxfam’s Yemen Country Director said: “Having suffered years of death, displacement and disease, the people of Yemen need these powerful members of the international community to bring all parties to the conflict together to agree to an immediate countrywide ceasefire and return to negotiations committed to achieving a lasting peace.

“Making billions from arms exports which fuel the conflict while providing a small fraction of that in aid to Yemen is both immoral and incoherent. The world’s wealthiest nations cannot continue to put profits above the Yemeni people.”

Despite a unilateral ceasefire declaration by the Saudi coalition in April, fighting continues across the country. The governorates of Marib and Al-Jawf in the north of the country are the worst-hit by airstrikes while the governorate of Taiz in central Yemen is seeing the worst ground fighting. There’s been a recent upsurge in fighting in the key port city of Hudaydah, the most important point of entry for the food, fuel and medicines needed for 20 million Yemenis in the northern governorates to prevent famine and a recurrence of a cholera epidemic.

Some G20 nations, including the US and UK, give a small fraction in aid compared to the worth of exports by their domestic arms companies to Saudi Arabia. Some, like Japan, have given aid to Yemen but have not exported arms to Saudi Arabia in the last five years. Other countries, like Argentina, have neither given aid nor exported arms to Saudi.

Ibtisam Sageer Al Razehi, a 35-year-old former teacher and mother of three, lives with her children in the remains of the family house in Sa’ada city which was damaged by missiles and artillery fire. Her husband was killed by an airstrike in 2015.

“I lost my husband, my children lost their father, we lost the breadwinner and because of war I also lost my salary as our last hope for living,” she said.

“Humanitarian aid has decreased a lot; now we receive food every two months instead of every month. I appeal to the world to have mercy on the children of Yemen and stop this war. We are very tired of living in war for years, we lost everything beautiful in our lives, even the simple hope of peace.’’

Notes to Editors

Data on the worth of arms exports to Saudi Arabia and other coalition countries has been taken from SIPRI’s Arms Transfers Database. It includes exports between 2015 and 2019 inclusive.

Data on the amount of aid donated to Yemen comes from the UN OCHA Financial Tracking Service

Contact Information:

Kelsey-Rae Taylor | [email protected] | +64 21 298 9854

World Humanitarian Day 2020: Celebrating Yemen’s Local Heroes in the Midst of Crisis

August 19, 2020

This World Humanitarian Day, Oxfam pays tribute to all humanitarians, like these three extraordinary people in Yemen, who are working to ensure that their community and their country can one day thrive.

For people in Yemen, like people across the globe, 2020 has been a year like no other. Over five years into a conflict that has killed thousands and uprooted millions from their homes, the COVID-19 pandemic has added yet another layer to the country’s ongoing crisis. Health services – already operating at half their pre-war capacity – have been overwhelmed, and people’s fear of COVID-19 may be preventing them for seeking healthcare, potentially masking a deadly cholera outbreak. On top of this, the economy is collapsing; remittances have fallen dramatically due to recession and job losses in other parts of the world. Meanwhile, over halfway through the year less than a quarter of the money needed for the humanitarian response has so far been given.

Yet in the midst of these layers of crisis, are the many extraordinary Yemenis who are standing with their communities to help in any way they can. Wherever any crisis hits, it is local people and communities who are on the frontlines of the response, and Yemen is no exception. We spoke with three of these local heroes: Abeer, Asem and Heba. Despite the impact that COVID-19 has had on all of their lives – from Asem, who has had to put his medical degree on hold, to Heba, who worries every day that her nine-month-old baby will fall sick with the virus – they continue to work to provide assistance to those who are worse off than themselves, and prevent the further spread of the virus. This World Humanitarian Day, Oxfam in Yemen pays tribute to all humanitarians who, like them, are working to ensure that their country can one day thrive.

Heba: “We are humanitarians… if we don’t stay to help people, who will?”

Heba works as a Public Health Promotion Officer for Oxfam in her hometown of Aden, southern Yemen. Her job – which involves raising awareness around the importance of good hygiene, and training community health volunteers to deliver hygiene awareness sessions – has put her on the frontlines of the COVID-19 response in Yemen. Throughout the four years that Heba has worked for Oxfam in Yemen, she has seen the impact of diseases such as cholera, dengue and polio. But the COVID-19 response has been a challenge unlike any other:

“It’s been difficult – we try to avoid meeting with our colleagues, and we’ve been really careful about going out to speak with the community. So much of our work is normally done face-to-face, but we’ve had to find other ways of making sure that communities are aware of what they can do to prevent the spread of COVID-19 [such as phoning people up or visiting individuals so that we don’t gather in large groups]. As a mother and wife, I was also concerned for the health of my family, and my nine-month-old baby; this is a disease that could affect anyone.”

Despite her worries, however, Heba told us that she believes the work she does to be more important than ever:

“I am proud to be part of Oxfam and have the opportunity to contribute to supporting people in my country. We are humanitarians. We are needed more than ever in times like these; if we don’t stay to help and support people, who will?”

Asem: “COVID-19 turned our lives upside down”

Asem is a community health volunteer (CHV) for Oxfam in a village in Al-Dhale, southern Yemen, where his family lives. He joined Oxfam’s growing team of CHVs in May this year, going door-to-door and holding group sessions in order to raise awareness within his community around good hygiene practice, so that people can protect themselves from disease.

Asem, a first year medical student, was visiting his family from Morocco – where he had received a scholarship to study – when the pandemic struck. Travel restrictions meant that he couldn’t return to university, so he decided to volunteer with Oxfam:

“COVID-19 turned our lives upside down. I was worried and frightened in the beginning – I felt so helpless. But then I started volunteering with Oxfam to raise people’s awareness about COVID-19, and how to protect themselves. We make sure that the awareness sessions all respect physical distancing, of course – over time, good hygiene practice has become part of our routine.”

According to Asem, one of the biggest challenges in Yemen is asking people to stay inside where possible to avoid spreading COVID-19. In a country where working from home is not a realistic option for most, people need to go out to work in order to be able to afford food for their families.

“I chose to volunteer with Oxfam because I wanted to help people in my village to protect themselves from diseases. Despite the risks and challenges, I think it’s important that people are raising awareness – and as a young person I feel like it’s my responsibility to protect others.”

Abeer: “It’s a really difficult feeling when you see so many people in need and you know that the help available just isn’t enough.”

Abeer, originally from the Yemeni capital Sana’a, works as a Public Health Officer in Hajjah. This area in northern Yemen has been hard hit by conflict and hosts a large population of displaced people, the majority of whom are women and children, living in crowded camps where social distancing is often impossible, and access to clean water and hygiene products is inadequate.

“When I was a child I loved helping others, so I studied hard to become a social worker and make sure I could work with people who need help. Oxfam gave me the chance to enter the humanitarian world – something I had dreamed of doing.”

She told us how the arrival of COVID-19 has added to the daily challenges of humanitarian workers in Yemen:

“There were already thousands of families living in terrible conditions in the camps for displaced people in Hajjah. With the arrival of coronavirus, the situation became even worse. It’s a really difficult feeling when you see so many people in need of assistance and you know that the help available just isn’t enough. And, with the drop in funding, instead of increasing to match the rising need we have had to cut some of our projects. That’s been the most difficult for me throughout this pandemic. It’s a terrible feeling.”

Yet, despite the challenges, Abeer continues to see the difference that her work makes for those who have already lost so much:

“My job gives me the opportunity to make a tangible change to my country. The most rewarding part of it is seeing the smiles on the faces of the people we help – we’re saving lives through providing people with food, shelter, clean water, and soap. Over the past five years, we’ve worked to help people whose homes have been totally destroyed by war.”

Since the confirmation of cases of coronavirus in Yemen in April, Oxfam has refocused its work to respond to the pandemic. We are working on rehabilitating water supplies, distributing hygiene kits for the most vulnerable households, and trucking in clean water to camps for people who have had to flee their homes. We have also given cash for food to families affected by flooding. Across Yemen, we’re training community health volunteers to spread the word about coronavirus and the importance of hygiene and hand washing.

By Ahmed Al Fadeel, Omar Algunaid, and Hannah Cooper