The Right to Aid for All: Yemen’s Struggle with Food Assistance and Distribution

• In Event: Multiple Dimensions of Human Security

Abstract

The starving nation in Yemen ranks second to last in the global hunger index data as of 2023. Despite its young age, Yemen has already faced severe setbacks and hardships ranging from civil war to water scarcity, making farming near impossible in the land. Yemenis have steadily relied on world food assistance programs and other human rights organization aids in order to combat the famine and disaster in the area.

This paper goes into detail as to why the food aid to Yemen has its drawbacks and is not always a well grounded and definitive solution to this crisis. Some challenges food aid programs face include security concerns, access restrictions, lack of funding and logistical difficulties. The Houthis, being an active militant group in certain parts of Yemen, often deter the delivery of humanitarian aid from reaching its borders.

Another major obstacle in the process of receiving food aid for Yemenis would be the political standings and beliefs of the aid programs. In 2023, the World Food Program paused their ongoing aid into Northern Yemeni territories due to unsuccessful negotiations between the WFP and the Houthi movement. This left many more Yemenis in crisis and increased their likelihood of starvation.

Any humanitarian aid should never be conditional in theory, however political, & socioeconomic factors often complicate matters of aid, even for the most vulnerable and at risk populations. This paper goes over alternate and more sustainable solutions to strengthen impoverished Yemen at the possibility and risk of food assistance programs’ insufficiencies.

Authors

• Neslihan Turan, Ning Liao

• Ning Liao, New Jersey City University