Mazen Faris
The inhabitants of countries mired in conflicts live in a time of uncertainty, as various risks increase and complex crises continue to plague their lives, with no solutions or respite from the crises that pursue them.
Over the past five years, the description "the world's worst humanitarian crisis" has been closely associated with Yemen, which has been embroiled in an eight-year-long conflict that has cast a shadow over the humanitarian and economic situation, exacerbating the lives of the population.
The conflict has also caused massive loss of life and waves of displacement, as well as damage to infrastructure and service delivery across all economic sectors and society.
The escalation of the conflict has depleted local communities and the inability of undeveloped institutions to provide adequate services and respond to the crisis.
Yemen ranks fifth on the list of the twenty countries suffering from the worst crises around the world in 2022, according to the annual "Emergency Watch List" issued by the International Rescue Committee (1).
Yemen is classified as a fragile state, ranking low on many human development, social, and economic indicators, as the country has suffered from conflict, wars, and instability for decades.
Over the years of the conflict, the need to strengthen "community resilience" at the local level and its role in addressing the increasingly complex risks and their impact on the most vulnerable populations has emerged.
Strengthening community resilience is a step towards sustainable institutional and community development, and requires strengthening this step in Yemen by working in the most fragile and difficult environments, in addition to building the capacities of local civil society organizations, supporting small projects, assisting food security, primary and reproductive health care.
In order to build empowered and resilient communities, there is a need for political commitment, establishing a partnership with civil society, and creating a clear governance structure to better guide and coordinate community participation using a multi-sectoral approach.
Strengthening community resilience also requires enhancing the role of the community and prioritizing the appreciation and understanding of community capacities and initiatives, as well as understanding and analyzing the positive coping strategies developed by the community during the years of conflict.
It is worth noting here that community resilience is the ability of the community to be flexible in resisting, absorbing, and recovering from the effects of risks in effective ways.
Community resilience options include effective risk control tools, responsibility and social initiatives, strengthening and empowering social systems, empowering the most vulnerable groups, and developing their skills in dealing with various shocks and stresses.
Over the eight years of the war in Yemen, numerous examples of community resilience in the face of crises have emerged, and they were able to overcome them, as in the case of road rehabilitation projects in rural areas in several regions, based on cooperatives and community contributions.
In addition, there are interventions implemented by United Nations organizations that have worked to implement projects that support community resilience and enhance the importance of that. This is what we have observed in the projects implemented by the United Nations Development Program regarding the support of small projects and rural resilience.
With the decline in the efforts of organizations working in the country due to lack of funding - as they say - and the continued economic deterioration, especially as the comprehensive political settlement remains elusive, the urgent need for community resilience and activating the role of stakeholders and service providers emerges through capacity building and partnership with UN agencies and the private sector.
A recent study reveals to us that local communities and the extent of their resilience in the face of the magnitude of the problems they face in various areas of life, in light of the weakness of institutions and programs to enhance community resilience.
The study was conducted by the "Youth Without Borders for Development" organization and addressed community resilience and the needs of local communities in the districts of Jabal Habshi, Al-Mudhaffar, Al-Masrakh and Dhubab in Taiz Governorate for the year 2022, with the participation of 830 people of both genders from various segments of society.
The study discussed 12 key issues related to the community's needs for housing, education, electricity, services, health, food security, social cohesion, justice and the economic situation.
The study concluded that there is a high demand for housing, with a significant increase in rental costs that are incompatible with the economic capabilities of the residents, as well as high electricity costs despite the lack of service.
The study indicates the continued rise in fuel prices and its scarcity, as well as the shortage of water due to the cessation of water pumping from wells located outside the city center and the deterioration of the network.
Regarding the health situation, the targeted community complained about the difficulty of accessing health services, the high cost of medicines that they cannot afford, the lack of medical equipment and devices in the centers and hospitals, and the shortage of medical staff.
The study also revealed the high cost of education and the inability of people to afford it, as well as the fact that the curricula do not keep pace with the times and the requirements of the labor market.
The study also addressed the fact that the community suffers from the high cost of travel and transportation, the harassment and inspection that travelers face, and the traders' suffering from the levies imposed on the transport of goods and products.
As it indicates, food prices have doubled concurrently with the severe shortage in food baskets funded by the World Food Programme, which portends a severe crisis at the level of food security.
Regarding the economic and social situation, the residents said they are facing the problem of fluctuating and unstable local exchange rate, in addition to the reluctance of the private sector to invest, the scarcity and weakness of resources and services, and the competition in the labor market, all of which have affected social cohesion.
Due to the spread of corruption, favoritism and mediation in the security and judicial sectors, and the ineffectiveness of justice mechanisms and the weakness of security capabilities, people resort to tribal chiefs and neighborhood elders in conflicts, according to the study.
- References
- International Rescue Committee report - https://www.rescue.org/.../top-10-crises-world-cant...
- Building resilient communities for better health and well-being in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, World Health Organization, Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean
https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/352424 - Social capital: the other face of community resilience (theoretical approaches and development options)
https://www.bayancenter.org/2018/01/4171/
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