SECURITY CONCERNS, BUREAUCRACY HINDER DELIVERY OF

UNCLAS SANAA 000939 SIPDIS FOR NEA/ARP:AMACDONALD E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID PGOV PREF YM SUBJECT: SECURITY CONCERNS, BUREAUCRACY HINDER DELIVERY OF AID TO SA,ADA REF: SANAA 560 Summary -------------- ¶1. Insecurity and bureaucratic foot-dragging are hindering efforts to provide assistance to Yemen's strife-torn Sa'ada province. A key needs assessment remains stalled awaiting ROYG approval, possibly as a result of the ROYG's hesitancy to allow outsiders to view the scope of the humanitarian crisis. Instability, lawlessness and distrust of the west make delivery of aid difficult. Absent some change of the situation on the ground, it is unlikely that aid agencies will be able to achieve any increased efficiency in assistance delivery. End Summary. Assistance Providers Frustrated -------------- ¶2. In recent conversations, Jean-Nicolas Marti, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) mission in Sana'a, and Khalid al-Mulad of Islamic Relief (IR) complained to USAID Director about two key issues concerning development assistance in the Governorate of Sa'ada: 1) the difficulty obtaining approval from the governor to proceed with the an assessment of the health and nutrition needs of the population; and 2) the difficulty of getting regular access to and within the governorate for the conduct of relief operations. ICRC and IR are the two primary relief agencies active in Sa'ada. Both organizations distribute food on behalf of the World Food Program (WFP) and are also involved in several kinds of non-food programs. Both maintain offices in the city, staffed in the case of ICRC with 50 employees (including seven expatriates),and in the case of IR, seven expatriates plus Yemenis. ¶3. Sa'ada, which has undergone five previous rounds of intense fighting between ROYG forces and Shia insurgents known as "Houthis," has recently witnessed an uptick in violence (ref A). Food distribution to persons in camps in the city has dropped from a peak of 17,000 recipients to a current level of 6,000 in a camp that is operated jointly by Red Crescent and ICRC. The latter is concentrating on food distribution outside of the city. Needs Assessment Stalled -------------- ¶4. Mulad told USAID Director in early May of progress on an essential needs assessment for Sa'ada. Administration of the survey instrument has been repeatedly blocked by the governor, who most recently has said he requires clearance from the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation (MOPIC). MOPIC, in turn, bucked the issue to Deputy Prime Minister for Defense and Security Affairs Rashad al-Alimi. Mulad said every possible base had been covered in clearing and preparing the assessment; he cannot understand why the governor refuses to allow it to go forward. In the meantime, workers hired and trained to administer the assessment are languishing in Sana'a and the high-priced UK-based Arab-origin consultant has collected his fee and returned home without doing the analysis and presentation as a neutral third party that the donors had hoped. (Note: On May 9, a representative of the IR office told USAID Director that the government will likely put the assessment on hold indefinitely because of security concerns. End Note.) Save the Children (STC) officials echoed the above concerns to the DCM on May 13, noting that they, too, have been getting the run-around with regard to which government entity is impeding the needs assessment and for what reason. On May 16, Ambassador urged the Minister of the Interior to support the needs assessment, noting that its findings will help the international donor community identify how it can best assist with relief and recovery efforts in the governorate. The Minister claimed a similar survey had been conducted less than a year ago, and urged the international NGO's to use data compiled by the ROYG's own relief mission to Sa'ada. Distribution a Challenge -------------- ¶5. The distribution of relief supplies in the governorate remains a frustrating challenge. According to Mulad and Marti, the conditions are about as bad as they can be short of actual warfare. Many areas are off-limits because they are controlled by the Houthis. Supplies are routinely delayed at numerous check-points. Project vehicles and supplies are hijacked and authorities exert little effort to secure their return. Local authorities are suspicious and uncooperative. Both agencies contract for shipment of supplies with truck operators who are prepared to risk losing their vehicles. For travel to and from Sa'ada, IR now uses rental cars to cut down on the loss of their own vehicles and uses alternative (longer) routes that take ten hours and double the cost of fuel. ¶6. Sa'ada is culturally conservative, more than most of an already conservative Yemen. Outside actors and influences, especially those of Western origin, are strongly distrusted and usually rejected. From a social systems point of view, the need is for stronger mechanisms for conflict resolution. ¶7. Marti said the July 17, 2008 cease-fire hasn't solved the causes of the conflict and that the ROYG Committee of Reconciliation, which was created to address those causes, is "mainly fire-fighting." Last year IR ran five well-received workshops for local officials to teach them conflict resolution techniques, based on Koranic authority and examples. What is Needed -------------- ¶8. If money were available to mount a broad-based reconstruction effort in the governorate, the priorities according to Mulad should be water, health and education, addressed through a combined, community-based approach. According to Marti, the Houthis' main grievance is neglect. In this regard there is probably little difference between the Houthis and other disaffected groups in the country. A Sana'a University Professor recently expressed the same concern to POLOFF, saying "Sa'ada, the south, tribal issues are all the same, (it's about) the lack of hospitals, schools and facilities. People want development." Comment -------------- ¶9. As long as Sa'ada residents are unable to access basic services from either the ROYG or international relief organizations, unrest will continue. That unrest, unfortunately, is a major barrier to the delivery of those services. If the current situation remains unchanged, it would be unreasonable to expect any greater efficiency in the programming and distribution of relief or development assistance than has already been achieved by IR and ICRC. We suspect that the ROYG's tendency to use "security concerns" as a pretext for preventing the survey may be an indication of its desire to avoid allowing "outsiders" to view the true extent of the humanitarian crisis in Sa'ada -- all the more reason for us to continue to lobby the ROYG to allow the completion of the assessment. End Comment. SECHE