- Current Funding Dimensions
The table below indicates what the proposed funding levels for Fiscal Year 2018 that has been requested for Yemen from the Trump Administration that the US Congress will have to decide upon with respect to the final appropriation:
The following link contains the full information on the Congressional Budget Justification for FY’18 that was submitted to the US Congress for consideration from the US Department of State: https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/271013.pdf
- Past Foreign Aid Funding Levels
On February 11, 2015, due to the worsening security state of affairs in Sanaa, the Department of State suspended embassy operations and U.S. Embassy staff were relocated out of the country. Thus, in terms of bilateral assistance to Yemen, U.S. bilateral economic funding to support basic education, maternal health, and agricultural assistance programs had halted. Unfortunately, in light of the situation in Yemen, its allocated military, security assistance directed through the US Departments of State and Defense had also been suspended and allocated to other countries.
Yet, the United States has been the largest Western donor of humanitarian relief to Yemen during this conflict leading or partnering together with other multilateral agencies. The US Government has dedicated over 400 million dollars towards emergency aid in light of the humanitarian catastrophe caused by the coup and the conflict. In more than can be put into words, the people of Yemen are profoundly grateful.
Other Funding Levels
Importance of Foreign Aid to Yemen
When it comes to Foreign Aid Appropriations for Yemen, they have been enormously important and impactful spanning a broad range of development issues through targeted interventions that are tailored at the local community level. They have covered:
- Education (i.e., Literacy – particularly for females, Trainings, Cultural Exchanges, etc., )
- Health (i.e., Vaccinations, Maternity, Disability, etc., )
- Poverty (i.e., Entrepreneurship, Microfinance, Women’s Empowerment, etc.,)
- Governance (i.e., Aid Effectiveness, etc.,)
- Environment (Clean Water, Agriculture Production & Extension Services, etc.,)
There is a plethora of “success stories” to Yemeni development that have been borne from US Government funding either directly through the US Embassy in Yemen and the US Agency for International Development (USAID); or indirectly under the supervision of the World Bank and the United Nations. The United States has been able to positively impact countless lives and communal spaces.
The focus and trajectory of US development assistance in Yemen can be subsumed into the thematic domain of capacity-building; and this also includes the security sector. Indeed, providing Yemen with assistance to its military and security apparatus is cohesive to the overarching refrain of “diplomacy, development and defense” that has undergirded US foreign policy engagement.
