VZCZCXYZ0001
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHYN #0939/01 1380625
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 180625Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY SANAA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 1935

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