In the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, 16.5 million people are starving and rely entirely on humanitarian aid
Usually described as the country of the “forgotten war”, Yemen is actually the country of the “ignored war”. The Farnesina, together with the University of Urbino*, explains how the news channels merely describe Yemen – a country divided into two parts, North and South – using only those few “facts” that are related to the West. However, we are talking about the “most serious humanitarian crisis” in the world, as the UN Secretary General said. The numbers are alarming: almost 21 million people are in need of aid, 16.5 million are starving and depend on humanitarian aid for their survival. 2,5 million children are in a state of “acute malnutrition”. Four million people are displaced. In addition, there are hundreds of thousands of refugees and asylum seekers fleeing wars in neighbouring countries.
In the midst of the most dramatic catastrophe in the world, our aid workers have been working since 2008, including in the North of the country, under the control of the Houthi group, and in 2020 have helped 772,000 people with humanitarian projects. In the North, INTERSOS carries out eight projects to provide medical care, to guarantee access to health, nutrition, protection, and to the right to water and hygiene for people. INTERSOS supports 21 medical facilities, carries out interventions in Qafl, Shamer and Abs, and with a mobile clinic in the district of Ku’aydina reaches facilities in almost inaccessible areas, which without the intervention of INTERSOS could not work.
Protecting women in Yemen
Behind these figures and projects there are people, rescued from war. An example is the project that provides “protection” for more than 8,000 women and children and training courses for 1,400 women. “Maybe not everyone understands how important those courses are, in that country, in that situation, in that culture”. These are the words of Stella Pedrazzini, coordinator of INTERSOS programmes in North Yemen. The courses enable women who have suffered violence and have had to flee, taking only their children with them, to start planning for the future.
Another project is ready to be launched. It concerns about a hundred young refugees who have fled from other wars and have received a scholarship to study and become independent. This project is complex because the situation has deteriorated in recent years. The school buildings have not been spared by the war and the refugees find it difficult to move around.
How is it possible to work in the most dramatic war? “A book would be needed to answer this question”, Stella Petrazzini replies. In short: “It is important to understand that despite the coordination and efforts of humanitarian organizations, which interface with the authorities with a single voice, it is also necessary to accept the limits and conditions imposed by the host government. With a clear line, however: respect for international law and humanitarian principles and values. Respecting the rights of the victims”.
*Yemen: the crisis and security, by Anna Maria Medici