Interviewed by: Mohammed Rajih

The Director of the Food Bank in Yemen, Mohammad Abdullah Al-Ansi, believes that international and local relief aid agencies- in its current formality -will turn the Yemeni people into a burden, and it is time to change and develop the intervention strategy, to be more effective in addressing the catastrophic humanitarian crisis that Yemen is experiencing after five years of the war in the country.

In an interview with Khuyut, Al-Ansi attributed the spread of hunger to unemployment, lack of income and job opportunities; so he believes that international and societal efforts in Yemen shall concentrate on sustainable development projects that combat unemployment and create job opportunities for young people.

Khuyut: In the beginning, what is your assessment of the current humanitarian situation in Yemen? How can the problems of food security and living conditions deteriorations shall be addressed?

Bank: The current humanitarian situation, unfortunately, is catastrophic. In my view, international grants are supposed to be directed towards sustainable development and infrastructure; which in return, will create job opportunities for young people instead of relying on humanitarian aids and turning the people into dependents.

Khuyut: Is there a dereliction of duty on the part of the international community in helping Yemen to address the humanitarian crisis?

Bank: The humanitarian crisis in Yemen goes beyond the possibilities, 22 million people are in need of relief as a huge proportion of Yemenis, according to international reports, need a form of urgent assistance, and the number is increasing. This is a catastrophic figure that represents a tragedy in all its meanings and a great pain. If everyone - local and international institutions, people, businessmen and organizations - does not work to mobilize the resources to confront this disaster, the world may wake up one day to a catastrophe greater than the current deteriorating, terrible situation, and on top of all, the war must stop immediately.

In fact, the most prominent difficulty is that we depend on businessmen to finance the food bank’s projects, in light of critical economic fluctuations and conflicting administrative bilateralism that affected everyone, and in turn reflected on the bank’s ambitions and aspirations

Khuyut: - What is the significance of having a Yemeni food bank in these difficult living conditions? And does the bank have any tangible impact?

Bank: The Yemeni Food Bank acquires its importance from the moment it was launched in response to the urgent need, necessitated by the requisite of the crucial moment in the lives of Yemenis due to the ongoing war, the disruption of people’s interests, the interruption of salaries, the intensification of the blockade, and the increase in the daily internal displacement movement which led to the climax of the Yemeni tragedy. The Bank also gains its importance from its specialization in combating hunger, based on a scientific vision and field experience, to direct humanitarian actions towards creating sustainable development that lifts the targeted people from the dire need to aids to the state of self-sufficiency.

In addition, the Yemeni Food Bank gains its importance from its relentless pursuit – since its establishment - to create an added value in humanitarian and development work, through transparent, professional and efficient management of humanitarian effort that prevents duplication and randomness and restores trust between charitable humanitarian actors and the donors. Moreover, the bank has different types of projects which are designed on the basis of a vigilant and purposeful need assessment. The bank implemented projects include; bakeries, public kitchens, central kitchens for distribution of meals to the displaced, families with disabilities and the elderly. Thus, these projects mainly target families who have absolutely no ability to buy and cook food in their place of residence due to their inability pay the costs of food or cooking materials and place for food preparation. Therefore, achieving the desired advantage from relief interventions requires targeting the needy people with projects that fit their actual need.

Khuyut: What are the main difficulties you face in your work? And what are the common challenges faced by the various humanitarian actors?

Bank: we, like all civil society institutions, are working in the shadow of war and political division. This is inevitably reflected in the form of difficulties, problems, challenges and obstacles. However, we are trying to overcome it by investing in our relations and impartiality with all parties, and tackling any difficulties and problems that may arise on a real-time basis, thank God, we find a response and cooperation from everyone.

Nevertheless, the most important difficulty is that we depend on businessmen to finance the bank’s projects, in light of critical economic fluctuations and conflicting administrative bilateralism that affected everyone, and in turn reflected on the bank’s ambitions and aspirations. However, we hope to overcome this by working on extensive networking locally, regionally and internationally.

Despite all these challenges, the Yemeni Food Bank managed - two years ago - to reach nearly 300,000 beneficiaries, through its permanent and seasonal projects and emergency interventions. Although they are small numbers - compared to the scale of the tragedy – we are proud that they are local and self-efforts.

Further, the Food Bank plans of this year (2020) and the coming years are to ensure that 70% of its interventions are focused on the areas of achieving sustainability and self-sufficiency for the targeted families and economic empowerment. Therefore, based on the Bank’s vision of assistance, more focus will be dedicated to rehabilitation and empowerment, especially in the agricultural, animal and craft industries

Khuyut: In your opinion, how can relief work in Yemen be promoted and evolved?

Bank: Improving the development of the humanitarian assistance and direct contribution to achieving food security, requires working in accordance with a system of professional programs and projects targeting needy groups, and relies on research, studies, partnerships, and resource development to combat poverty, hunger and unemployment.

Khuyut: How is the relief aid going in Yemen? What is the bank's vision to address these imbalances? And how can it be managed?

Bank: Like other organizations working in Yemen and actors interested in humanitarian work, many of the Bank's interventions are currently coming within the framework of emergency response plans to confront the exacerbated humanitarian crisis within 5-year armed conflict and the lack of a prospect for peace which threatening the majority of the population in Yemen by the inability to secure their daily food.

Nevertheless, this does not mean accepting reality; in fact, the Bank plans this year and the coming years that 70% of its interventions will be directed to the achievement of sustainability and self-sufficiency of the targeted families and economic empowerment based on the Bank’s vision of assistance, rehabilitation and empowerment especially in the agricultural, animal and craft industries. I hope that international donors will engage more and more and adapt their grants in this direction. Moreover, donors shall require that their local implementing partners to propose development and infrastructure projects that create job opportunities targeting members of the targeted poor families, who used to be supported by relief and aid programs. To be fair, some organizations are starting to go in this direction, but I believe that at least 80% of their funding shall go to sustainability and development projects to achieve real impact on the ground.