THE IMPACT OF FOOD AID ON FOOD

SECURITY:
YEMEN AS A CASE STUDY AFTER THE ARAB SPRING
Word count: 15,006

Yonas Atmani
Student number: 01912740

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Bruno De Cordier,

Academic Dissertation

A dissertation submitted to Ghent University in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Science in Conflict and Development Studies

Academic year: 2020-2021

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Acknowledgment
Throughout this master's dissertation I was advised and assisted by a number of skilled people.
Therefore, I would like to take this opportunity briefly to thank these people. Without them,
this thesis would probably have been considerably more complex.

My supervisor Prof. Dr. Bruno De Cordier. For his educational and supportive commitment
and advice. Thank you for your fascinating and inspiring supervision of this dissertation.

Prof. Dr. Karen Büscher, Dr. Soraya El Kahlaoui and Dr. Robin Vandevoordt. For their
professional guidance and the many tips in writing a dissertation.

My special gratitude also extends to my family and friends for their unconditional love and
support at all time.

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Table of Contents

Abstract ....................................................................................................................................... 5
1. Introduction.......................................................................................................................... 6
1.1 Research background and problem: the conflict in Yemen .................................................... 6
1.2 Scientific and societal importance and relevance ................................................................... 7
1.3 Research objective and research questions ............................................................................ 7
1.4 Layout ...................................................................................................................................... 8
2. Literature review .................................................................................................................. 9
2.1 International aid ...................................................................................................................... 9
2.2 Food aid ................................................................................................................................. 10
2.2.1 Forms, categories and sources of food aid.................................................................... 12
2.2.2 Politics of food aid ......................................................................................................... 13
2.2.3 The debate surrounding food aid .................................................................................. 15
2.3 Food Security ......................................................................................................................... 16
2.3.1 Concepts of food security .............................................................................................. 17
2.3.2 Food Insecurity .............................................................................................................. 18
2.3.2.1 Causes of food insecurity.......................................................................................... 18
2.4 Food aid and food security in Yemen .................................................................................... 20
2.4.1 Recent patterns and characteristics .............................................................................. 20
2.4.2 Yemen’s approach to food insecurity............................................................................ 21
2.4.3 Yemen’s Humanitarian Response Plan .......................................................................... 25
2.4.4 Enhanced Rural Resilience in Yemen............................................................................. 26
2.4.5 Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus .................................................................... 27
3. Methods ............................................................................................................................. 28
3.1 Research design and methodology ....................................................................................... 28
3.2 Global Hunger Index .............................................................................................................. 28
3.3 Global Food Security Index .................................................................................................... 29
3.4 Financial Tracking Service, ReliefWeb and Food Aid Information System ............................ 29
4. Results................................................................................................................................ 30
4.1 Global hunger ........................................................................................................................ 30
4.2 Food Insecurity ...................................................................................................................... 31
4.2.1 Food availability............................................................................................................. 33
4.2.2 Food affordability .......................................................................................................... 34
4.2.3 Quality and safety.......................................................................................................... 35
4.2.4 Natural resources and resilience ................................................................................... 36

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 4.3 Food aid ................................................................................................................................. 37
4.3.1 In-kind and cash............................................................................................................. 40
4.4 Current Situation ................................................................................................................... 40
5. Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 41
5.1 Limitations and further recommendations ........................................................................... 45
6. Bibliography ....................................................................................................................... 47

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Abstract

Yemen can be identified as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. Yemen’s population has
been food insecure for over ten years and is highly dependent on food aid. Yet, there is still
very little research that investigates the impact of food aid on food security. The focus of this
study is to research and evaluate the impact of food aid on food security in Yemen after the
Arab Spring and to find out whether it improves food security or increases food insecurity in
Yemen. The main research question is as follows: What is the impact and effect of
international food aid on food security in recent and current conditions in Yemen? This
research paper will consist of a literature review to formulate the conceptual framework
around food aid and food security with a focus on Yemen. Data will be collected by consulting
digital data originating from different data banks. This data will be further supported by
documents such as policy, program, and project reports. The findings suggest that although
food aid provides short-term relief, it does not have a positive impact on food security in the
long term.

Key Words: Food aid, food security, food insecurity, Arab Spring, Yemen

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1. Introduction

1.1 Research background and problem: the conflict in Yemen

The conflict in Yemen, beginning in 2011, has drastically escalated the last years and can be
identified as the worst humanitarian crisis of the world according to the United Nations Office
for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) (UN News, 2021) and Oxfam
International (2020) with already 4 million people being displaced. The Arab Spring which
unfolded in North Africa, clearing into the Arabian Gulf and up through the Middle East, has
devastated Yemen (Clements, 2011). The Arab Spring has led to a power shift in the already
politically unstable Yemen, filled with social tensions. The short-lived revolution had forced
President Ali Abdullah Saleh to hand over control to his then vice-president Abdrabbuh
Mansour Hadi in the same year. The escalated conflict in Yemen found its roots in this unstable
political transition. Even though Hadi was then legitimized by the outside world, most of the
Yemenis did not recognize him as their president as the problems of corruption and security
were neglected. Yemen became divided into three factions: the government of President
Hadi, the Houthi movement in the south that formed a brief alliance with their former
opponent ex-President Saleh to oppose Hadi, and the separatists. The alliance managed to
seize the capital Sana’a in September 2014 and in 2015 Hadi was forced to resign by the Houthi
rebels. The conflict was further influenced by external factors. On the one hand, the
government of Hadi based in Aden is supported by Saudi Arabia and including Bahrain, Egypt,
Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Pakistan, Qatar, Sudan, and the United Arab Emirates. On the other
hand, the Houthi rebels were supported by Iran (Coppi, 2018).

Not only did the conflict have an impact on the political climate and instability in Yemen, but
the economy has become even more fragile. With the loss of experienced workers to
contribute to the economy and the lack of financial resources, Yemen became reliant on
international aid. The conflict further led to the destruction of physical infrastructure, loss of
productive factors, and economic networks and supply chains have been severely damaged
(Althibah et al., 2019; Coppi, 2018).

This all accumulated into increasing levels of hunger. Yemenis are confronted with
malnutrition and don’t have many available resources (Clements, 2011). However, the WFP
(2020) reported that even before the conflict broke out, Yemen was already one of the poorest
counties in the Middle East and dependent on humanitarian aid. The ongoing conflict of the

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Saudi-led coalition (SLC) of the Gulf states and the government of Yemen against the Houthi
rebels known as the Ansar-Allah movement only worsens the crisis. Not only has the SLC
helped the government of Yemen in fighting against the rebels, but it has also provided a lot
of humanitarian aid. The SLC has promised the Yemen Comprehensive Humanitarian
Operations Plan to donate 1,5 billion US dollars to the funding of the UN’s 2018 Yemen
Humanitarian Response Plan. The United Arab Emirates states that it has already donated 4
billion US dollars over the last few years to Yemen (Alterman, 2018). To assist Yemen in its
humanitarian crisis, food aid has been provided by different countries and organizations. This
has been provided in the hope that people no longer have to live in hunger and have to fear
death by starvation. Many development agencies such as the World Food Programme (WFP)
have tried to solve the problem of food insecurity with food aid and assistance, but the
question remains whether this is the best solution to world hunger.

1.2 Scientific and societal importance and relevance

Yemen has a population of around 30,5 million people. The WFP (2020) and the Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) (2020) state that over 80% of the total population, which is
24,3 million people, require humanitarian assistance and 20,1 million require food aid that
leads them to food security. It is also estimated that 10 million people are acutely food
insecure, meaning they don’t have access to any food to sustain themselves. The absence of
food leads to a million women and 2 million children requiring medical treatment for
malnutrition. Out of those 2 million, 360 000 children are at risk of dying of malnutrition
without any medical assistance. This makes Yemen one of the highest-ranking countries with
malnutrition rates. Yemen is currently the country that receives the most emergency aid
response from the WFP (2020).

This research study is of importance because it evaluates a contemporary problem that needs
to be addressed. It is important to know what food aid does in helping the people of Yemen.
This information is essential for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and countries who
donate and contribute to distributing food in Yemen to know whether providing aid is a
worthwhile solution to the problem of food insecurity.

1.3 Research objective and research questions

The topic of this research paper is the evaluation of the impact of food aid on food security
with Yemen as a case study. The main research question is: “What is the impact and effect of

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international food aid on food security in recent and current conditions in Yemen?”. The main
focus of this research paper will be how international food aid has ‘influenced’ food
(in)security and what the overall effect of international food aid had on Yemen in general in
recent (i.e. the Yemeni Revolution and) and current (i.e. ongoing civil war) circumstances.

The primary research objective of the study is to evaluate the impact of food aid on food
security and to find out whether it improves food security or increases food insecurity in
Yemen. The second research objectives are to understand what food aid and food security
involve, to investigate the cause of food insecurity (and in our case specifically in Yemen), and
to evaluate the impact of food aid on food availability, food access, and food utilization in
Yemen.

The sub-questions are the following:

• What effect had the Arab Spring on food insecurity in Yemen?

• Which countries have been the main providers of international food aid in Yemen since
the Arab Spring?

• To what extent does international food aid reduce food insecurity in Yemen?

1.4 Layout
This research paper can be divided into five main chapters. In this first part an introduction to
the problem, a review of relevance, objectives, and research question is presented. The
second part will consist of a literature review to formulate the conceptual framework around
food aid and food security with a focus on the situation in Yemen. Following in chapter three,
data will be collected by consulting digital data originating from different data banks such as
the Global Hunger Index (GHI), Global Food Security Index (GFSI), the Financial Tracking
Service (FTS), the Food Aid Information System (FAIS) and ReliefWeb to gather information on
food aid and food security. This data will be further supported by documents such as policy,
program, and project reports. The results are presented in chapter four. Discussion of the
findings and relevant conclusions are presented in chapter five with the limitations of this
dissertation and with the recommendation of further research.

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2. Literature review

2.1 International aid

International or foreign aid is defined as the “voluntary transfer of resources from one country
to another country. This transfer includes any flow of capital to developing countries”
(Agarwal, 2019). International aid addresses emergencies, reduces poverty and disease, and
also increases the social, economic and political wellbeing of the target countries.
International aid can be divided into two types: humanitarian and development aid. Based on
the Joint Statement by the Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the
Member States meeting within the Council, the European Parliament and the European
Commission published by Official Journal of the European Union (2008) we can summarize
humanitarian aid as “assistance to address acute issues arising from natural and human-made
disasters based on principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence”.
Humanitarian aid is mostly provided by international NGOs such as the WFP, the World Health
Organisation (WHO), etc. Based on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD) (2021) development aid can be summarized as “assistance in the form
of direct grants and loans and technical assistance through programs and capacity building to
support chronic problems in the economic, social and political development of less developed
countries”. The entities that provide this kind of aid are mostly organizations such as the World
Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the UN, the European Commission (EC), and
other government agencies of developed countries. Humanitarian aid addresses the needs of
target countries in the short term, while development aid provides assistance in the long term
(Lewis, 2016).

There are mainly two reasons why international aid is provided. Firstly, because it is the right,
human thing to do. Aid can be reliant on moral, ethical, or altruistic reasons. It’s a moral
responsibility to a country and its population who have suffered a natural disaster, or who are
at an economic disadvantage or in a conflict resulting in poverty, famine, and injustice. It can
be regarded as a moral obligation to help those in need, to see to the needs of others. There
is also another view that falls into this category, overdevelopment guilt: aid given as
compensation for the past, such as exploitation and colonialism (Quiviger, 2020). William
Easterly’s The White Man’s Burden (2006) goes deeper into this concept of how Western
countries accumulated wealth at the expense of other less developed countries that were

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resource-rich. The second answer to why international is provided relates to Strategic self-
interest. Economically, donors could improve their own economy by providing their own
goods and services as aid or trade (Quiviger, 2020). Furthermore, it allows a donor country to
provide their own food surpluses as aid. Politically, a donor country can provide aid for
geopolitical interest, where those countries who provide aid are competing for influence and
control. Or for fighting against terrorism and maintaining security (Quiviger, 2020).
International aid can be provided in multiple ways. Bilateral aid is the aid provided by one
country to another, directly from donor to the aid recipient. Multilateral aid is the aid provided
by a government to multinational organizations, such as the World Bank, the UN, and EC
(different agencies), etc. (Hasan, 2019; Quiviger, 2020).

2.2 Food aid

In the academic literature considering food aid, Barrett and Maxwell (2005) stand at the
frontline of giving a clear-cut definition, “the international sourcing of concessional resources
in the form of or for the provision of food” (p. 5). If we simply take a look at the Oxford English
Dictionary (OED) (2020), food aid is defined as, “help in the form of basic items of food given
to a country or region suffering from a food shortage”. We could list even more definitions
regarding food aid with different aspects.

Defining food aid is not as easy as it seems. For a long time, food aid has been loosely defined
and no clear definition existed at all (Lowder & Raney, 2005). Even though food aid discussions
can be traced back as early as 1950, it was only until 2003 at a conference in Berlin where food
aid experts joined hands in defining this concept. The result is as follows:

“The definition of food aid should not just be focused on its source of funding, or by
specific transactions, such as ‘items donated from external donors to recipient’, but
should include consideration of a) all related international and domestic actions and
programs, and b) the role of non-food resources brought to bear jointly with food to
address key elements of hunger problems. As such, food aid can be understood as all
food supported interventions aimed at improving the food security of poor people in
the short and long term, whether funded via international, national public and (sic)
private resources.” (von Braun, 2004, p. 89).

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Although many would argue that this explanation is too long or too broad, we only need to
take a look at the last sentence: food aid can be understood as all food supported interventions
aimed at improving the food security of poor people in the short and long term, whether
funded via international, national public and private resources. It highlights funded food
distributions as well as non-food distribution to improve food security. As such, this definition
is similar to the objective of this research paper. The definition of Barret and Maxwell (2005)
limit food aid to only international assistance in the form of food and does not necessarily help
in improving food security (Lowder & Raney, 2005).

Now that we have situated the academic discussion around the definition of food aid, we need
to take a look at how international organizations that provide food aid define this concept.
Interestingly enough, the concept of food aid has shifted to food assistance. The World Food
Programme (WFP) (2020) states that at the start of the 21st century a strategic shift has taken
place regarding food aid. Food aid is merely a top-down approach where you provide food for
the hungry. In contrast, food assistance provides a long-term approach to assist nutritional
needs. The European Commission (EC) (2020) also experienced this shift and focus on
providing food assistance instead of food aid. This is not surprising since the EC is a part of the
Food Assistance Convention (FAC) (2020) which was previously known as the Food Aid
Convention. Instead of only focussing on direct food aid for immediate consumption, the FAC
now focuses on activities, food assistance products (i.e. cash and vouchers, products intended
for protecting livelihoods), and nutrition.

If we solely based our terminology on the international organizations, we can conclude that
food assistance is a more encompassing concept than food aid. However, based on the
academic literature food aid can be defined in different ways. For the purpose of this research
paper, we will use the concept of food aid, which is more commonly used, with the definition
of von Braun (2004, p .89) “food aid can be understood as all food supported interventions
aimed at improving the food security of poor people in the short and long term, whether
funded via international, national public and (sic) private resources”, which in my opinion
includes the concept of food assistance as defined by the international organizations.

The shift from food aid to food assistance, as described above, can be understood by two
theories, post-development, and sustainable development. Post-development theory can be
comprehended as a critique on development that developed in 1980. It criticizes the

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hegemonic beliefs of the western world. It is built on the idea that development is based on
the view that western society is developed and should be held as the standard while countries
outside the west are labeled as underdeveloped. Post-development theorists believe that
development should contribute to an increase in income which would lead to better living
standards and would further lead to better health and nutrition (Karplus, 2014). On the other
hand, sustainable development theory takes environmental concerns into account. These
theories can be found in how the WFP provides food aid. The WFP provides resources and
assistance to local farmers, they also revitalize local markets. So locals will be able to produce,
provide, buy and sell their own food instead of relying on food surpluses from other countries
and be dependent on that, they become more independent. Not to mention, their number
one priority is to end zero hunger. Zero hunger is the second goal of the Sustainable
Development Goals which pledges to end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition
and promote sustainable agriculture (WFP, 2020).

2.2.1 Forms, categories and sources of food aid

Food aid comes and is used in different ways. Food aid as a means to battle hunger is not as
simple as it is often implied. It is more than just delivering food to certain individuals or groups.
The WFP (2020) supplies food aid directly to families and individuals. One form of food aid
provides is in-kind. In-kind food aid aims to fill the gap of food that has been lost after
displacement situations, natural disasters, or in general when people don’t have access to
their food sources and don’t have enough food to meet their needs. Food is then selected
based on the current needs of the population to prevent malnutrition and give the people
enough energy. There are two ways of distributing in-kind food aid: blanket distribution, food
provided to everyone in an area (i.e. a camp), and targeted distribution, food provided to
specific vulnerable individuals or groups. In-kind food aid is considered a short-term solution
until the people are able to be self-reliant again. There are other ways to provide food security
than providing food. Another way the WFP (2020) provides food aid is by using cash transfers.
Increasing food security also implies improving the local market. Providing cash transfers will
help people in purchasing foods locally. Cash transfers include bank notes, e-money, mobile
money, and vouchers.

Shay and Stokke (2000) categorize food aid according to three types: relief food aid, program
food aid, and project food aid. Each category has its own set of donor legislation, procedures,

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sources of financing, and methods of operation. Relief food aid or emergency food aid is
defined as freely distributed food aid to victims of natural disasters or conflicts that caused a
sudden shortcoming in food production or food access. Program food aid can be described as
aid provided to a governmental institution that then sells it on local markets. The commodities
are monetized and help the country in need to rebuild its local economy. Project food aid is
meant to support projects targeted to groups. This type of food aid is provided on a grant basis
to specific beneficiaries and development projects (Young & Abbort, 2008; Shay & Stokke,
2000; Martinez & Eng, 2016; Uvin, 1992).

Food aid is provided by countries and organizations that donate food. According to the Global
Policy Forum (2020), as of 2014, the United States provided almost half of the total global food
aid, with the United Kingdom and Canada a distant second and third and Germany and Saudi
Arabia fourth and fifth. According to Shay and Stokke (2013), The WFP is the primary
international provider of food aid for development and disaster relief and the largest source
of grants for food resources for developing countries.

Barret and Maxwell (2005) point out that the food aid provided can either be a triangular
transaction or a trilateral transaction. Triangular transaction means that a donor purchases
food in one developing country for use as food aid in another. Donors could also buy food in
a country to be used as food aid in the same country, which is then locally purchased. Trilateral
transactions are where a donor commodity is exchanged for a more appropriate commodity
which is used as food aid. This exchange of commodities or swaps can either be done in the
same or different countries. The United States, which is the biggest contributor to food aid,
uses trilateral transactions. This allows the US to exchange their farm surplus and provide food
aid without setting aside any funds directed for food aid.

2.2.2 Politics of food aid

The explanation above shows that an understanding of the different forms, categories, and
sources of food aid is of real importance to any recipient government or NGO as it requests
food aid and develops its food security policies. On the other hand, a lot of attention
surrounding the politics of food aid has been directed to the deposing of surpluses in donor
countries as well as the allocation of food aid across recipients. So it needs to be recognized
that political factors have a role in the supply of food aid (Young & Abbort, 2008).

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As mentioned above, the United States uses its surplus of food to provide food aid. This
method of trilateral food aid can also be compared to tied food aid. Clapp (2015, p. 2) defines
it as “food aid given in kind to the recipient country as a direct transfer of food sourced in the
donor country”. In this case, however, there is no exchange made. At first sight, this form of
tied food aid can be seen as a kind and benevolent act. But the differences in policies between
the two main food aid doners (i.e. the United States and the European Union) regarding tied
food aid is what made this political debate stand out and made tied food aid being criticized.

The focus herein lies that donors serve their own interests by providing food aid, both
economically and politically, and that is the basis of their policy. Firstly, there is the desire to
remove your own surplus from the market, which also supports the donors’ own farmers.
Secondly, developing international markets and influencing the recipients of food aid to gain
political advantage. By enforcing tied food aid, donors also make the recipient countries more
dependent on the donor countries, which gives way more power to the donor countries
(Clapp, 2015). So food aid policies were more donor-oriented rather than considering the need
and interests of the recipients. However, there has been a shift towards the direction of the
needs of recipient countries (Barret & Maxwell, 2005). Some even say that this debate
regarding self-interest-based approaches is of no relevance at all. Food aid was no longer
shaped by individual donor countries, but by international organizations focused on
international development such as the WFP. Rather than seeking to dispose of their surplus
food, donors had to go through a multilateral channel for food aid (Clapp, 2015).

The debate about how food was supplied continued in the 21st century. More countries began
to untie food aid and used different means to supply food aid. The only country that still
supplied tied food aid was the United States. The untied food aid donors argued that untied
food aid will lead farmers in recipient countries to develop and produce their own food, while
tied food aid will only make the recipient rely on foreign supplied food. They also accused the
US of using food aid to support their own agricultural sector. Untied food aid, which provides
food closer to the individuals or groups in need of food, was more efficient and time- and cost-
effective. The US had to ship their own grain surplus to the recipient countries, this on its own
will cost a lot of time, more in comparison to untied food. Not to mention that a lot of money
was used for logistics instead of actual food aid. Even though the channel of food aid has
shifted from domestic to international, countries can still regulate their own policies regarding

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food aid seen as they are the sources of supply. Meaning organizations such as the WFP are
still restricted by their donors regarding policies since they rely on their food supply (Clapp,
2015).

2.2.3 The debate surrounding food aid

Now that we have situated and discussed food aid, let us summarize the debate around food
aid. The debate lies mostly in the fact that giving food to the hungry is a moral obligation or
that food aid does more harm than good.

The main defender and supporter of food aid are without a doubt the WFP. Which is not that
far stretched since they are the main contributor and distributor of food aid. The WFP (2021)
has committed itself to not only attain food security but also ending zero hunger and improve
nutrition. They believe that food aid is the way to solve hunger and poverty. Not to mention
the contribution the WFP has provided during natural disasters and conflicts, where a sudden
supply of food and water has saved lives.

The argument against food aid stems from the fact that food insecurity is not the result of a
lack of food, but poor secure access to food even when enough food were to be supplied
locally. In other words, rather than supplying food aid, political solutions would help resolve
food insecurity by helping poor people resist forms of exploitation. Food aid alone is not
enough, aid should also include personal security and health care (Thompson, 2010). We have
also already discussed the fact that food aid has been given as a way to dispose of food surplus.
These programs and policies regarding tied food aid are also proven to be costly and inefficient
(Clapp, 2015).

Thompson (2010) also mentions that food aid needs to be provided more flexibly. Instead of
providing direct food aid to feed hungry people, donors should focus on purchasing food in
developing countries and monetization. If this were actually the case, then this whole segment
about pro or contra food aid will no longer be necessary. The focus of food aid should not
simply be food, but actual development aid. Thompson (2010) and Clapp (2015) have already
stated that there has been a decline in food surplus aid in the United States since 1990. The
overall conclusion of arguments against food aid is that the emphasis should be on realizing
development objectives, rather than giving food to hungry people. Shay and Stokke (2000) as
well as Barret and Maxwell (2005) have categorized food aid in three different categories. All

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those three categories combined classify food aid as more than simply feeding hungry people,
but also providing development and security assistance.

To summarize, the debate of food aid is mostly centered around major donor’s use of in-kind
tied food aid. In other words, food is purchased in the donor country and transported to the
recipient country. This type of food aid is generally used to dispose of the donor country’s
surpluses. This results in the local market of the recipient country being distorted, and the lack
of choice in the supplied food. Not to mention the cost of transport and delays upon arrival,
which is of high importance during emergency aid. On the other side of this food aid debate,
local and regional procurement (LRP) and the use of cash and vouchers are highly advocated
for ‘‘providing purchasing power directly to the beneficiaries’’ (Clapp, 2015, p. 43). LRP, cash,
and vouchers are faster and less expensive than in-kind food aid. It has also been shown that
LRP, cash, and vouchers restricts the distortion of local markets in recipient country by
providing support to the local farmers and improves the quality of food and may even be more
nutritious. However, LRP, cash, and vouchers need to be approached cautiously. In some
cases, local markets were unable to respond to the demand for food which in turn could
increase food prices and bring more harm. The quality and safety of local food are also variable
and some food might not be purchasable or simply available. All in all, it has become a
mainstream belief that LRP, cash, and vouchers are the ‘better’ option regarding food aid in
comparison to in-kind (Lentz, Barret & Gómez, 2012).

2.3 Food Security

Food security is inter- and multidisciplinary, being studied in sociology, economics, biology,
nutrition, and many more. So it can be argued that it is a frequently debated topic in the world,
especially concerning developing countries and countries that have suffered from war, famine
disease, and drought. In the following part, we will define food security, the conceptualization,
and the different levels. Furthermore, the causes of food insecurity will be analyzed.

Since the 1940s food security has been a concern, however during the 1970s, food security
surfaced in the international dialogue. Most of the concerns were regarding the production
and supply and were at the core of its conceptualization (Maxwell, 1996). Food security has
been defined by different authors through the last few decades. The most frequently found
definition in literature always refers back to Reutlinger (1986). He has defined food security
as "access by all people at all times to enough food for an active healthy life" (p. 1). However,

16
some found that this definition was not broad enough, it should also encompass food safety
and the quality of the food supplied. The definition of that will be adopted in this thesis goes
back to the World Food Summit of 1996: “food security exists when all people, at all times,
have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their
dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life” (World Food Summit, 1996).
Food security can be classified into four different concepts according to the factors that
determine it: availability, accessibility, utilization, and stability (Napoli, 2011).

2.3.1 Concepts of food security

The first concept is food availability, this basically means that there should be enough food
available for an active healthy life. This can be measured by food production. According to
Malaysia (2010), the food available for a country is measured by the countries’ domestic
production, food import, and food aid which should be available to a community, household,
and individuals. This is highly important because national food security can be achieved, while
food insecurity remains on lower levels. So food availability can only be achieved when an
ample supply of food is available to the whole population of a country.

Even though food may be available, it still needs to be accessible to the whole population.
That is why the second concept is food accessibility. This means that people need to have
access to food at all times. This access needs to be both physically and economically. This
means that all households and individuals need to have sufficient resources to obtain food,
keeping in mind that said food needs to be nutritious. Therefore, access depends on the
household income and market price of food (Malaysia, 2010). Both the concepts of availability
and accessibility may be a bit difficult to distinguish. So it is of importance to note that
availability focuses on the supply and production of food. While accessibility focuses on the
demand and ability to purchase food.

The last concept is food utilization. This concept is based on the fact that food needs to be
nutritious so that the human body can process the nutrients when the food is consumed so
that people can live a healthy and active life. Food needs to be of a certain quality and quantity
to provide enough energy and nutrients to the whole population (Pérez-Escamilla, 2017). This
shows that food utilization focuses on the consumption of food. One of the objectives of the
WFP (2021) is to raise the standard of nutrition of the recipient population and help it obtain
a balanced diet. People who have access to available food but still face health deficiencies that

17
can be attributed to an imbalanced diet are not food secure. This means that there is a lack of
access to food that contributes to a balanced diet or a healthy active life.

Stability must be constantly present. For food security to exists, availability, accessibility and
utilization must be stable. The previous four concepts stand alone, availability does not
predispose accessibility. In that same sense, accessibility does not guarantee utilization. All
three concepts can be disrupted by stability. The lack of stability can affect all or any concepts
of food security. All four concepts need to be maintained to achieve food security (Napoli,
2011).

2.3.2 Food Insecurity

Food insecurity can be defined as “a lack to regular access to enough safe and nutritious food
for normal growth and development and an active and healthy life” (FAO, 2021). Based on the
conceptualization of food security, food insecurity occurs when food is not available, or when
there is a lack of access, or when there is improper utilization and stability. There are many
causes of food insecurity in different parts of the world. These causes may be political,
economic, and social conditions that include natural disasters (mostly due to climate change),
conflict and political instability, disease, etc. (Napoli, 2011). Food insecurity can be divided
into acute and chronic food insecurity. Acute food insecurity occurs at a specific moment in
time with severe consequences where the population finds themselves in life-threatening
emergencies. This mostly manifests in a short amount of time due to external shocks that
negatively impact food security. Chronic food insecurity on the other hand occurs over a long
period of time such as seasonal food insecurity.

2.3.2.1 Causes of food insecurity

The Global Report of Food Crises 2021, published by the Food Security Information Network
for the Global Network Against Food Crises (FSIN), identified three major causes of food
insecurity in 2020: conflict and insecurity, weather extremes, and economic shocks (including
COVID-19). Important to note is that most drivers of food security are interlinked and rarely
stand alone; this makes it more difficult to identify a single cause for each case of food security.
These food crises that lead to food insecurity are protracted.

Food insecurity is often caused by conflict, political instability, and civil unrest. During these
conflicts, the population experience income loss, and food systems and markets are disrupted

18
by preventing a business from operating and weakening the overall national economy. This
also prevents governments from providing aid (also due to the fact that money is spent in the
war effort) and increases poverty. Conflict also causes infrastructural damage, such as
healthcare, and damage to agricultural land. In 2020, 23 countries faced food insecurity with
conflict as their main cause. Internal and cross-border displacement, people being deprived
of their livelihoods, local markets that were disrupted, trade and crop prevention, and led to
higher food prices are all consequences of conflict. Conflict and insecurity also prevented
humanitarian aid to assist those in emergency situations. It also exposes aid workers to
increased risks. Out of the 10 worst crises, 6 of them can be attributed to protracted conflict,
including Yemen. Countries with conflict-based food insecurity in 2019 still remain food
insecure to this day. Also, food insecurity is not only a consequence of conflict, but conflict
can also be a consequence of food insecurity (FSIN, 2021, pp.22).

Compared to conflict and insecurity, economic shocks had a bigger impact on food insecurity
in 2020. This can mostly be attributed to COVID-19. The pandemic had a big impact on the
economic activities and resulted in job and income losses. Most countries vulnerable to this
economic shock lacked buffer programs to alleviate all the loss, with an alarmingly increasing
rate of unemployment and industries being negatively affected. Adding the loss of revenue
from tourism and export of many primary commodities (i.e. metals and oil) that also
contribute to economic welfare only increased the negative impact. Furthermore, a decline in
remittances and aid added extra strains on a country’s resources. All of these shocks combined
led to an increasingly high rate of poverty. As a consequence, the capacity to purchase
sufficient food, both in terms of availability and utilization dropped significantly. Import
dependent countries experienced the shock even worse, with the movement restrictions that
were in place. The combination of household poverty and the government's incapacity to
provide aid make it harder to come back from the crisis (FSIN, 2021, pp. 22-23).

Most of the cases that led to food insecurity have resulted from weather extremes, however,
their impact was lower than the cases of conflict and economic shocks. Although heavy rain
can improve crop yields, it can also cause floods which leads to the destruction of homes,
infrastructures and spoils crops. It further leads to killing the livestock and displacement. The
most common weather extremes contributing to acute food insecurity are tropical storms,

19
hurricanes, flooding, and drought. These extreme weathers also prevent markets from being
stocked, it blocks roads and reduces agricultural employment (FSIN, 2021, pp. 23).

Disease outbreaks, crop pests, and animal diseases can easily spread and affect different
countries at the same time. Hygiene, water, sanitation, and the quality of food are important
to stop diseases from spreading. Displaced people are the most common to be targeted by
disease due to overcrowded camps, lack of hygiene, and quality food. Plant pests can cause
huge losses to crops and pasture directly affecting food security and threatening the lives of
farmers and furthermore the nutrition of millions. Desert locusts are the most common and
destructive, being able to damage crops and farmland in several countries and continents.
This pest is the most dangerous to Africa and Asia (FSIN, 2021, pp. 23).

2.4 Food aid and food security in Yemen

Now that we have fully discussed and analyzed food aid and food security, we will take a look
at the current situation of food aid delivered to Yemen and its relation to food security.

2.4.1 Recent patterns and characteristics

The ongoing conflict in Yemen escalated in 2015 when the civil war broke out. However, food
insecurity was rising even before that. During the Yemeni Revolution in 2011, food prices
spiked due to the political transition in 2012 (Tandon & Vishwanath, 2020). The Human Rights
Watch (HRW) (2020) reported that during the periods of 2015 and 2019, humanitarian aid to
Yemen was at its highest. In these four years, international donors gave in a total of 8,35 billion
US dollars, which included 3,6 billion US dollars in 2019.

Delivering food aid in conflict zones is more challenging than initially thought, definitely in
critical situations such as Yemen (Alterman, 2018). We must not forget that food aid or
humanitarian aid, in general, arrives via commercial air- or seaports or simply country roads,
and during the conflict, those have often been blocked, making it more difficult for food aid
to arrives where it is needed. In response to a Houthi attack on air- and seaports in 2017, the
SLC decided to close all of Yemen’s air- and seaports as well as putting up blockades on country
roads. However, it was not possible to keep these ports closed for a definite amount of time.
Especially the ports of Al Hudaydah and As-Salif had to be opened temporarily to allow food
aid to go through since 80% of the total of Yemen’s imports goes through these two ports
alone. Not to mention that more than half of Yemen’s population live around those areas and

20
are directly served by those two ports. Therefore, it was impossible to keep the ports closed
as it puts an enormous strain on food availability and would have increased food insecurity
(Alles, 2017).

In June 2020 over half of the donations from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, and the US
to the UN aid agency collapsed. This is mostly due to the interference of aid by Houthi
authorities to fund their war. Two months later, the aid agencies only received 24% of the 3,4
billion US dollars that they needed that year. This means that over 9 million people received
half of what they supposedly needed to survive, not only in terms of food but also the support
of healthcare had greatly been impacted. This obstruction of aid had a dire impact on Yemeni
civilians. Knowing the fact that Houthis utilize aid for their own needs, aid agencies still ask for
a continuance of food aid and other aid projects. UN agencies and other humanitarian
organizations in Yemen still provide needed aid to Yemeni civilians (HRW, 2020).

2.4.2 Yemen’s approach to food insecurity

The government of Yemen tried to address food security by using the National Food Security
Strategy (NFSS). It attempted at improving food security at all levels in every sector. Yemen
should have been able to provide enough food to feed its whole population through its own
food production and food imports. However, limited production of food in combination with
the increasing demand had forced Yemen to trade at the global market. To be able to trade
and generate foreign exchange, Yemen needed to export sufficient goods. Over the years,
Yemen’s trade worsened even before the start of the Arab Spring. In 2010, the government of
Yemen had started to combat food insecurity in collaboration with international partners and
donor agencies, with IFPRI leading this initiative. However, after the Yemeni Revolution and
the continuous political instability, Yemen was forced to put a stop to the NFSS initiative. To
ensure food security, the NFSS had three objectives: to reduce food security by one-third by
2015, to make 90% of the whole population food secure by 2020, and to reduce child
malnutrition. To reach the targets of these goals, the NFSS contains a 7-Point Action Plan
(Breisinger & Ecker, 2011; Mukred, 2015).

To reduce food insecurity, Yemen planned to firstly reform petroleum subsidies by increasing
fuel prices in 2010. However, this could also have major negative consequences. By increasing
the fuel prices, food insecurity would also increase, mainly by affecting the farmers. As not to
have this effect, the ample budgetary savings from the reform should be used to finance a

21
combination of direct transfers and productivity-enhancing investments. This would curb the
rise of food security in short term and also provide sustainable economic growth by using
public investments in infrastructure. All in all, a combination of transfers and investments
would promote sustainable development, which complements a decrease in food security and
overall poverty (Breisinger & Ecker, 2011).

The second plan is to improve the business climate. The plan is to increase food security by
improving the private sector. The main target of this plan is domestic and internal investors.
Most investments, mainly foreign, are concentrated in the oil and gas sector. However, Yemen
wants to attract investors in other sectors that also link with the economy to create more jobs
and employ more food insecure individuals. A bonus is the introduction of new technologies,
labor opportunities, and management skills. The focus not only lies in the urban sectors, but
also the rural sectors. The poorest food insecure individuals are in the rural areas. By investing
in mining, food processing, and tourism, food security will improve in the more vulnerable
areas (Breisinger & Ecker, 2011).

The third plan is to reduce qat production and consumption. According to the Fogarty
International Center (FIC) (2011), qat (or khat) is a commonly used, highly addictive drug.
Shewing on this plant releases an amphetamine-like simulant in the brain. Yemen faces a
water crisis with the increasing demand exceeding its supply, and the production and
consumption of qat is a big contributor. The biggest constraint of this water crisis is the
agricultural sector, which is also one of the major components to improving rural development
and increasing food security. Qat consumes more than 40% of Yemen’s water supply. Ergo,
reducing the qat production and consumption is a crucial part of avoiding drought, increasing
rural development, and increasing food security. The biggest obstacle to this plan is the
Yemeni people. An increase in qat tax may help with the reduction in consumption by
discouraging people from buying, which will lead to a reduction in the use of water supply and
will also increase Yemen’s revenue. All of this should make the population less food insecure.
Also, the new incoming tax revenue should be invested in agricultural development and water
infrastructure. Further, alternatives to qat production should be promoted like cereals and
coffee so that farmers are compensated for their loss of qat production revenues (Breisinger
& Ecker, 2011).

22
The fourth plan is to improve food security risk management. Yemen needs to implement a
risk management mechanism to protect itself from global food price shocks and disasters to
which it is vulnerable. For example, the cereal import markets need to be more competitive.
The market is currently dominated by a small number of importers, which led to an increase
in the local cereal prices. This even occurs when the economy is fairly stable. Hence, laws and
regulations need to be implanted to increase the competitiveness of the markets. This would
lead to improving food security. The government of Yemen should also protect itself against
emergency disasters such as the global crisis of 2007 – 2008. This global food crisis brought on
extreme price fluctuations which increased food insecurity. Protection can be achieved
through stocking the national and regional grain reserves and being covered in international
markets. Not unimportant are social transfers which build economic resilience in vulnerable
communities. Risk management requires strong collaboration among governmental agencies,
the private sector, and international partners for it to succeed (Breisinger & Ecker, 2011).

The third plan already entailed the improvement of water supply, however, the overall water
infrastructure is still lacking. Therefore, the fifth plan is to implement the water-sector
strategy. The water quality and accessibility in Yemen are below standard. This reform is not
only beneficial for achieving food security but also to sustain development. Reducing overall
groundwater use and redistributing water used for agriculture to economic activities and
human consumption are crucial for reducing food insecurity. It is important to have
sustainable water management in Yemen by strengthening water resource management,
which includes improved water accessibility and quality and the use of groundwater.
Furthermore, the environmental impacts need to be managed in order to protect the
environment and the effects it may have on food security (Breisinger & Ecker, 2011).

As mentioned in the first plan, Yemen planned to reform the fuel subsidies and it has spent
more money on that than on education, health, and social transfers combined. Therefore,
Yemen needs to target public investment and improve service provision. Compared to its
neighboring countries, Yemen spends way less on infrastructure, agriculture, and healthcare.
Even though there is no direct correlation between investing in public sectors and improving
food security, it should improve the overall development of Yemen and therefore have a
positive impact on food security in general. Nonetheless, more research should be done on
public investments across sectors in general and their effect and impact on food security. This

23
would allow Yemen to invest money in the sectors that need it most and improve food security
at the same time. This investment should go beyond infrastructure and needs to focus on the
provided services, as physical infrastructure and services provided don’t always go hand in
hand. In order to have a better outcome, the quality of the services, as well as the investments
in different sectors, need to be evaluated and monitored (Breisinger & Ecker, 2011).

Lastly, the Yemeni government needs to launch high-level awareness campaigns. These
campaigns need to be launched at the highest political level with the highest outreach. These
campaigns should include providing healthcare to families, the lack of nutrition, and spreading
information and knowledge about health in general. Important topics in these campaigns are
malnutrition, dietary diversity, etc. These campaigns should further include social inequality
and focus on the empowerment of women. Gender inequality, food insecurity, and
malnutrition in Yemen are often observed together (Breisinger & Ecker, 2011).

It was planned that once this 7-Action Plan was implemented, that Yemen would reach its
food security goals in 2015 and 2020. It is important for the Yemeni government to quickly
make these policy reforms to battle food insecurity. Evidently, these policy reforms and
investments need to be conducted transparently and need to be inclusive. It further needs to
follow evidence-based research to optimize the best outcomes. To make Yemen food secure,
political stability is of high importance together with the collaboration of ministries and
international partners. In 2013, the NFSS was again implemented despite the conflict and
political instability. It was argued that even after three years the NFSS was still valid. They
started by assembling the agencies and ministries involved and decided on which actions
should take priority focusing on the reconstruction of the economy. This was later further
discussed in 2014 with the priority being implementing projects to improve food security and
nutrition. Another important aspect of this assembly in Sana’a was to find more donors for
funding to continue ongoing projects and start new ones. It was then possible to finally
monitor the theoretical framework being implemented as a national work plan. Yemen Spatial
is a tool with the sole objective to monitor and evaluate the process of the implantation of the
NFSS (Mukred, 2015). It aggregates development data and offers full transparency and allows
the visualization of areas that are vulnerable to food insecurity. It is also a part of the Arab
Spatial application which allows for an international comparison (Trinh Tan, 2014).

24
 2.4.3 Yemen’s Humanitarian Response Plan
The Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan (YHRP) is a presentation of the coordinated, strategic
response devised by OCHA on behalf of the Humanitarian Country Team and its partners in
order to meet the acute needs of the Yemeni population affected by the crisis. The YHRP is
based on the evidence described in the Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO) from OCHA. It
outlines the causes, drivers, and magnitude of Yemeni’s needs. The YHRP of 2021 has three
objectives: (1) preventing disease outbreaks and reducing morbidity and mortality, (2)
preventing famine, malnutrition, and restoring livelihoods, (3) and protecting and assisting
civilians (p. 6-8). Priority of the YHRP lies in combatting hunger by providing food aid, reduce
disease outbreaks, provide services to internally displaced people (IDPs), protecting civilians,
reestablishing infrastructure to better provide services (OCHA, 2021).

The YHRP is reformulated yearly and is time-critical. It is also highly dependable on the
funding. Last year, for example, the YHRP was highly underfunded. This meant that some
important programs were forced to close or were significantly reduced. By the end of 2020,
only 56% of the needed funding was collected to implement the 2020 response plan. As a
result, families only received half of the emergency relief and services stopped providing
support. If the YHRM fails to respond to the crisis Yemen would face a bigger food crisis. If we
keep the same level of humanitarian aid as last year, then more than half of the country will
experience famine. Without any response, food insecurity would increase at an alarming rate
affecting mostly children. Aside from the increasing levels of famine, more people will face
death, injury, or displacement due to the conflict. The conflict is also responsible for long-term
physical and psychological harm. The number of vulnerable civilians will also further increase
and those relying entirely on humanitarian aid will suffer even more. Their health condition
and the socioeconomic situation will decrease. Access to drinking water will also be cut.
Without water and sanitation, there will be an increase in disease outbreaks, morbidity, and
mortality rates. More prominently, a heightened risk of cholera will take the lives of many
Yemenis. Covid-19 will surely increase with limited testing and treatment, permitting the virus
to spread rapidly. Even preventable diseases will be a high risk to children without any proper
treatment. Out of all the vulnerable groups, women and girls will suffer immensely. The
situation in 2020 worsened due to escalated conflict, COVID-19, rain and flooding, a desert
locust plague, economic collapse, and a fuel crisis. This increased the levels of food security

25
and malnutrition once more. These factors continued in 2021, meaning that the needs are
only increasing or millions of Yemenis will keep suffering. If these needs are unable to be met
yet again, then the Yemeni crisis will only worsen. Therefore, the situation needs to be
reviewed and updated periodically. This will allow the response to be more effective and
efficient (OCHA, 2021).

Food security is one of the targets of the YHRM. The objectives are to increase food availability
and accessibility, increase household incomes and livelihood opportunities, and enhance the
overall response to emergencies. Firstly, the most vulnerable groups who are highly food
insecure are targeted. The combination of emergency food aid and emergency life support is
used to meet the basic needs of the vulnerable group and to protect and strengthen them.
This should overall start their economic recovery as well (by also providing cash transfers). The
intention is that the vulnerable group will be able to cope with their situation and in long term
will generate enough income to improve their own situation. This is done on a monthly basis.
The food aid provided is mostly a combination of in-kind food rations and cash or voucher
transfers, with relatively, 30% to 40% consists of cash and vouchers (OCHA, 2021).

2.4.4 Enhanced Rural Resilience in Yemen

The Enhanced Rural Resilience in Yemen (ERRY) is a three-year joint program that started in
2016. This program is funded by the European Union and implemented by FAO, ILO, United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and WFP, to enhance the resilience and self-
reliance of crisis-affected rural communities in Yemen. The resilience program is designed to
help rural communities to cope with shocks of conflict and crisis in general. Contrary to the
YHRP, this program focuses on using development aid (especially renewable energy) to
achieve financial stability in communities. This program stresses that the conflict in Yemen is
not only a humanitarian and political crisis but also a development crisis. Therefore, it needs
to be addressed simultaneously. Here as well, the most vulnerable groups are prioritized. This
program should ultimately prepare these communities for future risks. Resilience is important
to maintain food security and reduce increasing levels of food insecurity. ERRY has four
objectives: (1) Communities have better resources and more reliable income sources, (2)
Access to solar energy provides communities with a reliable income source, (3) Communities
are stronger because they enjoy basic services and supportive relationships, (4) Institutions
deliver services in a way that satisfies human needs and gains community trust (UNDP, 2020).

26
 2.4.5 Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus
During the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit, conflict was collectively recognized as the
main driver of humanitarian needs and the current system in place is not sustainable. Progress
has been extremely limited. Local and national actors are an integral part since solutions are
only sustainable when the process is both shaped and led by them. International actors need
to support local and national actors so that they can be more self-reliant, resilient, and
peaceful societies. While the idea of the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus is gaining
wider understanding within the international aid system, the challenge remains on how we
can put these concepts into practice. Contributing to peace is inherently political. All have
concerns that deliberately contributing to peace may compromise humanitarian principles.

According to the EC (2021), the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus develops “longer-

term interventions that address humanitarian needs as well as development and
peacebuilding challenges”. This is due to the fact that most conflicts are complex by nature. It
further helps build resilience for a country and its population to cope with the conflict, adapt
and recover from its impact. The Yemeni conflict can be defined as a protracted conflict and
therefore poses a threat to sustainable development and peace. The Humanitarian-
Development-Peace Nexus can have 4 strategic objectives: (1) equitable assistance that
supports the resilience and sustainable recovery; (2) local service delivery; (3) preservation of
state institutions; and (4) preparation for economic recovery and reconstruction (IASC, 2017,
p. 1-2).

Based on the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus, we can each then identify how we can
best contribute to self-reliant, resilient, and peaceful societies. For example, when conducting
activities, we can strengthen the relationships between different social groups. We can
strengthen the relationships between institutions and populations, such as supporting local
authorities to lead planning processes or strengthen their role in the provision of services. We
can address the dynamics of exclusion, for example of women, youth, and other marginalized
groups. We can strengthen the participation of all in decision-making. We can strengthen the
capacities to address and prevent local level conflict, for example over natural resources. So a
key challenge to achieving these goals in the context of Yemen is to involve all the Yemeni
actors and to make sure they are aligned. Even more than that, a consensus should be necessary.
Ensuring conflict sensitivity and enhancing contributions towards peace does not require

27
fundamental changes to what is done, but how it is done. It requires adaptations to programs,
adaptations that are usually inexpensive and possible to implement with existing resources
and capacities. What is crucial is the deliberate intent to contribute to peace through
activities. A solid understanding of the context and a willingness to continually learn and adapt
such a peaceful, responsive approach can increase the effectiveness of interventions and their
contributions to peace (IASC, 2017).

3. Methods

3.1 Research design and methodology

In this research paper, two types of data are gathered: digital data and documents. Digital
data was gathered by looking at online databases. Firstly, The Global Hunger Index (GHI) and
the Global Food Security Index (GFSI) show the state of hunger and food security in Yemen
over the last ten years. This is used to assess the previous and current situation. Food
insecurity was already previously established in Yemen based on literature review, however,
this data will provide more detailed evidence that shows that Yemen is currently food
insecure. Secondly, the Financial Tracking Service (FTS), the Food Aid Information System
(FAIS), and ReliefWeb are used to gather information on food aid., both digital data and online
documentation. All this information is available online and transferred to an Excel file, where
the data was transformed into visual data by making graphs. This data will give us specific
numbers and assesses the situation in Yemen regarding food aid and security. Since the data
are standardized, it is possible to compare the data gained on food aid and security.
Furthermore, a more in-depth analysis will be given to Yemen’s neighboring countries, more
specifically the Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) countries.

3.2 Global Hunger Index

The GHI is a tool for measuring and tracking hunger on a global, regional, and national scale.
Each year, GHI scores are measured to assess progress and setbacks in the fight against
hunger. The GHI is designed to raise awareness and understanding of the struggle against
hunger. It also allows us to compare the hunger levels between different countries and regions
and shows us where the hunger levels are at their highest or lowest. The GHI score is scaled
on a 100-point GHI Severity Scale, where 0 is the best score (i.e. no hunger) and 100 is the
worst. Each score is classified by severity, low (≤ 9.9), moderate (10.0 – 19.9), serious (20.0 –

28
34.9), alarming (35.0 – 49.9), and extremely alarming (≥ 50.0). The GHI score is calculated by
using three steps to define hunger, with 3 dimensions and four indicators. The first step
includes four indicators that are measured for every country. Undernourishment is the amount
of the population that is undernourished, whose caloric intake is insufficient. Child wasting is
the share of children under the age of five with low height, weight, and who are showing signs
of acute undernutrition. Child stunting is the share of children under the age of five with a low
height for their age and who are showing signs of chronic undernutrition. Child mortality is
the mortality rate of children under the age of five. In the second step, each of the four
indicators is standardized on a 100-point scale. In the final step, the standardized scores are
combined to calculate the GHI for each country. Each of the three dimensions of the GHI (i.e.
inadequate food supply, child mortality, and child undernutrition) are given equal weight (GHI,
2021).

3.3 Global Food Security Index

The GFSI was designed and constructed by the Economist Intelligence Unit and is sponsored
by Corteva Agriscience™. The GFSI includes the concepts of food affordability, availability,
quality and safety, and natural resources and resilience across a set of 113 countries. It
measures the drivers of food security worldwide with four dimensions and 59 indicators. Food
affordability measures the ability of consumers to purchase food, their vulnerability to price
shocks, and the presence of programs and policies to support customers when shocks occur.
Food availability measures the sufficiency of the national food supply, the risk of supply
disruption, national capacity to disseminate food, and research efforts to expand agricultural
output. Quality and Safety measures the variety and nutritional quality of average diets, as
well as the safety of food. Natural Resources and Resilience assesses a country’s exposure to
the impact of climate change and the awareness and adaptability to the change of natural
resources, which has an impact on food insecurity in a country. For the 2020 GFSI, new sub-
categories were added. These new sub-indicators that were added were done so based on
research and recommendation from experts. New sub-indicators include inequality-adjusted
income, gender inequality, and armed conflict (EIU, 2021).

3.4 Financial Tracking Service, ReliefWeb and Food Aid Information System
After I had gathered data that allowed me to assess food security, the next step is to look at
food aid. To gather this information, I will use the Financial Tracking Service (FTS) from the

29
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). This is a database
where states and organizations can voluntarily enter their aid-related information. As this is
voluntary, there is a risk of possible gaps in the information, as certain donors can remain
unknown meaning this data is relative and not exact. This database will allow us to show the
total and required aid send to Yemen in US Dollars, which country has contributed the most,
and make a comparison of said donors. It will also be possible to categorize aid and look at
food aid send to battle food security specifically (FTS, OCHA, 2021).

ReliefWeb, also from the OCHA, is a humanitarian information service. It is a collection of

information from more than 4,000 key sources, including humanitarian agencies at the
international and local levels, governments, think tanks and research institutions, and the
media.

The Food Aid Information System (FAIS) from the WFP provides performance data on
programs and projects in relation to food aid in Yemen. However, it can’t be guaranteed that
the information in the data sets is exhaustive, completely up to date, or that it covers global
food aid flows in their entirety. The information will be transparent.

4. Results

4.1 Global hunger

Figure 1 shows the GHI of Yemen which is much higher than its neighboring countries.
Interestingly enough, Yemen was already suffering from hunger before the Yemeni
Revolution. In 2000, Yemen had a score of 43.2 which could already be categorized as
“alarming” according to the GHI severity scale. The years before the revolution (2000-2010),
Yemen was able to decrease its hunger and moved down to the serious scale. There are no
clear clarifications as to why Yemen was able to decrease its hunger, but it can be speculated
that the deescalated conflict during that time might have had a positive impact. However,
around 2010, which we can link to the start of the revolution in 2011, hunger increased
tremendously eventually leading to a score of 45.9 in 2019 which makes the rank of Yemen
the 116th country among 117 countries included in the results of 2019. Even though hunger
already existed before the revolution and ongoing conflict, we can attribute those two events
to the rise in hunger. According to the 14th annual publication of the GHI, a report jointly
published by Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe, some multiple conflicts caused hunger

30
before 2000 (Grebmer et al., 2019). After the reunification of Yemen, a civil war broke out in
1994 between the northern and southern armies. The Houthis already started protesting
during that time for being marginalized. Not to mention the Saudi interference due to the
border argument between Yemen and Saudi Arabia (Montgomery, 2021). Taking everything
into account, the war that also leads to an economic downfall has had a major impact on the
malnutrition of Yemen’s population, especially the children.

Figure 1: Global Hunger Index of Yemen between 2000 – 2019.

Global Hunger Index 2000-2019 (GHI)

50
45
40
35
30
GHI

25
20
15
10
5
0
2000 2005 2010 2019
Year

Yemen Saudi Arabia Egypt Oman

Source: Grebmer et al., 2019, Global Hunger Index 2000-2019: The Challenge of Hunger and Climate Change
from IFPRI, Welthungerhilfe (WHH) and Concern Worldwide

4.2 Food Insecurity

Secondly, we can observe the rise in food insecurity during the Yemeni Revolution and at the
start of the civil war (figure 2). Before those two major events, hunger was slowly dropping
and food security was slowly rising. Across 113 countries included in the GFSI, Yemen currently
ranks last with a score of 35.7 meaning it is the most food-insecure country in the world.
Important to know is that even before the revolution and the civil war, Yemen was food
insecure and had a high level of hunger. However, conflict and political instability have
worsened food security and created the world’s worst food security crisis, as can be observed
from Syria (rank 101, with a score of 40.0) as well. Yemen and Syria are the only MENA
countries that rank lower than the global average, with Jordan having the same score (60.4).

31
The average score of the MENA countries is slightly higher than those of Asia Pacific and Latin
American countries. Globally, MENA scored better in the categories of food affordability and
quality, and safety. Although the management of natural resources remains overall very weak,
it has been slightly improving over the last couple of years. Food price fluctuations in the
MENA regions, mostly in politically unstable countries, have contributed to a decrease in food
security.

Figure 2: Global Food Security Index Yemen 2012 – 2020.

Global Food Security Index (GFSI) 2012-2020

75

65

55
GFSI

45

35

25
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Year
Yemen Saudi Arabia UAE Kuwait
Qatar Egypt Syria Global average

Source: Based on the Economist Intelligence Unit Limited supported by Corteva Agriscience, 2021, Global Food
Security Index 2012-2020.

The significant decrease in food insecurity starting in 2015 in Yemen can be explained due to
the start of the civil war. The decrease starting from 2017 could also be explained if we look
at the literature (see section 2.4.1). These restrictions and blockades hindered humanitarian
aid, including humanitarian organizations, personnel, and goods within and into Yemen which
continued in 2020 as well. These restrictions include denials of travel permits for
humanitarians to deliver aid and delays and blockages at road checkpoints. The movement of
humanitarian supplies into and within Yemen was constrained by irregular clearances, taxes,
and transportation restrictions. Together these restrictions severely hindered the timely and
efficient delivery of life-saving supplies and assistance in both north and south of Yemen. Even
reports on violent acts against humanitarian aid workers are decreasing since 2019. Incidents
included physical assault, detention, intimidation, and other forms of mistreatment of
humanitarian personnel, confiscation of humanitarian assets, and occupation of humanitarian

32
premises (OCHA, 2021, pp. 46-47). These blockades by both Houthi rebels and the SLC need
to be prevented at all costs in order for humanitarian aid (including emergency relief aid) to
be delivered on time.

Although the GFSI does not yet provide information on 2021, we can predict that food security
will decrease even further. The COVID-19 pandemic obstructed much of the humanitarian aid
going within and into Yemen. The restrictions were implemented in fear of the spread of the
virus, especially in March and April of 2020. But by September, these restrictions were lifted.
However, these restrictions did limit the amount of aid incoming with operations at
international airports of Sana’a and Aden being suspended. Not only incoming aid, but the aid
within Yemen also faced extra challenges with humanitarians being blocked from delivering
aid or implementing their projects and programs. Overall, movement by sea, air, and land was
severely restricted due to the quarantine measures that took place (OCHA, 2021, pp 46-47).

4.2.1 Food availability

MENA performed slightly above the global average, with Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar
as its top performers. However, the overall score for MENA decreased due to the changes in
Algeria and Yemen. In contrary to those two countries, Kuwait had an improvement regarding
availability. Egypt stands out the most, as one of the lower-middle-income countries, it
recorded a score of 75.2 gaining the second rank in the MENA region. Yemen continues to
suffer from food insufficiency. Overall, food aid dependency is low in MENA, except for
Yemen, Syria, and Jordan. Yemen scores 27.5 and ranks the lowest in the availability rankings
(113th). Regarding the improvements in agriculture infrastructure, which should ensure food
supply, Yemen again ranks at the bottom has one of the lowest ranks globally. Aside from
agricultural infrastructure, food loss and social and political instability also threaten food
availability. Although Yemen has no struggles with food loss, social and political instability
poses a barrier to food availability and food security in general. Yemen’s neighboring countries
also face challenges concerning political instability and corruption like Israel, Egypt, Saudi
Arabia, Oman, and Turkey, which pose barriers to food security. Gulf countries have better
road infrastructure in comparison to other MENA countries. Most of the MENA countries have
moderate to poor quality roads, with Yemen at the bottom of the rankings, even globally.
Infrastructure is also important to prevent food loss. Countries like Algeria, Egypt, and Turkey
have big infrastructure gaps that result in food loss. Regarding infrastructure, not only do they

33
rank low regionally, but also globally. Gender equality has had improvements in the MENA
region in the last year except for Syria and Tunisia. This improvement can be linked to the Arab
Women Leaders in Agriculture (AWLA) fellowship program (The EIU, 2021).

Figure 3: Food availability score of the MENA region in 2020.

Food availability score MENA 2020

75.3 75.2 73 70.7
80 68.3 67.2 66.5
70 59.1 56.8 56.7 55.7
60 51.4 48.2
50 41.3
Score

40 27.5
30
20
10
0

Country

Source: Based on the Economist Intelligence Unit Limited supported by Corteva Agriscience, 2021, Global Food
Security Index 2020. Regional report: the Middle East and Africa.

4.2.2 Food affordability

Food affordability has slightly deteriorated in the MENA countries, most visibly being the UAE
and Egypt. This could be attributed due to higher food prices in 2020 in comparison to 2019,
especially in Qatar, the UAE, and Egypt. However, Yemen underwent a noticeable score
improvement with a score of 40.3 and rank 96th globally. There were no noticeable
developments with regard to poverty reduction, but in some MENA countries, some
improvements in the reduction of inequality were observed. Concerning Yemen, half of the
population lives under the poverty lines which makes food accessibility an even harder
challenge. This can be observed in Syria and Egypt as well, but form a huge contrast of the
poverty rates in the richer Gulf countries. Food safety net programs are under stress with
seven out of the 15 MENA countries not benefiting from quality food safety net programs.
Turkey has it especially bad with hosting 4 million refugees, mainly from Syria. It now relies
heavily on foreign aid to deal with that specific situation Israel, Oman and Morocco are the
leading MENA countries when it comes to providing diversified offerings and adequate
connectivity (The EIU, 2021).

34
Figure 4: Food affordability score of the MENA region in 2020.

Food affordability score MENA 2020

100 89.5 88.5
90 82.7 82.6 80.3 79.6 78.7 77.1 76.3
80 73
69 66
70
60 51.8
Score

50 40.3
40 29.3
30
20
10
0

Country

Source: Based on the Economist Intelligence Unit Limited supported by Corteva Agriscience, 2021, Global Food
Security Index 2020. Regional report: the Middle East and Africa.

4.2.3 Quality and safety

As for the nutritional quality, MENA countries performed above the global average with
Yemen being the weakest performer with a score of 36.9 and rank of 109 and Syria 78th. Israel
was the highest performer ranking fifth globally and the UAE 17th. This shows that there is a
high disparity between MENA countries. The MENA average did not change overall, with
Turkey being the only improvement and Algeria and Syria having a decreased score. The
highest scores were mostly found in high-income countries. The dietary diversity in MENA is
below the global average. Again, Israel is the best regional performer. MENA does have a high
iron availability, with most of them ranking in the top 10 in this regard. The dietary diversity
in Yemen is also below the global average. The quality of protein in diets is exceptionally low
in Yemen, which is a sign of undernourishment. Yemen further experiences deteriorations in
food safety. MENA experience a deterioration in nutritional standards, with a need to
implement nutritional strategies and guidelines. All MENA countries provide access to
electricity to nearly the entire population, with the exception of Yemen (62% of the total
population has electricity) and Syria (86%) (The EIU, 2021).

35
Figure 5: Quality and safety score of the MENA region in 2020.

Quality and safety score MENA 2020

93.9 88.8
100 86.4 84.3 83.7 79.8 78.3 76.7
80 70.8 67.4 64.3 63.1 62
55.6
60
Score

36.9
40
20
0

Country

Source: Based on the Economist Intelligence Unit Limited supported by Corteva Agriscience, 2021, Global Food
Security Index 2020. Regional report: the Middle East and Africa.

4.2.4 Natural resources and resilience

MENA countries performed below the global average in regards to natural resources and
resilience. The top countries in this region are Jordan and Morocco and are both tied at rank
44. Wealthier countries like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Qatar did not perform as well and have
one of the lowest rankings globally. Oman and Algeria performed better in comparison to
2019, but the overall score remained low. MENA countries particularly face challenges related
to droughts and storms and are often exposed to it with high risk especially the Gulf countries.
Besides droughts and storms, the Gulf countries are also exposed to increasing temperatures.
MENA countries are also highly dependent on food imports, with 75% of cereal consumption
relying on said imports. MENA countries are also dependent on rents from natural resources,
which represents about 10% of their economies. All in all, this makes food security-sensitive
to climate change that either disrupts international trade or local industries. They further face
water challenges that need the utmost attention with risks of water shortages. Water quality
risks are lower, Yemen faces both high water shortage and water quality risks. Although all
MENA countries face climate events that disrupt their economies, political commitment to
climate change adaptations is low and should require immediate attention with only half of
the MENA countries having these adaptation plans (The EIU, 2021).

36
Figure 6: Natural resource and resilience score of the MENA region in 2020.

Natural resource and resilience score MENA 2020

60
49.5 49.5 49.4 47.4 46.7
50 46.3 43.8 42.2 42 41.5 41.2
37.2 34.1
40 33.7 33.6
Score

30
20
10
0

Country

Source: Based on the Economist Intelligence Unit Limited supported by Corteva Agriscience, 2021, Global Food
Security Index 2020. Regional report: the Middle East and Africa.

4.3 Food aid

From what we can observe from the graph below (figure 7), is that aid has been delivered to
Yemen since at least 2011. The aid delivered between 2011 and 2014 seems approximately
the same, but the aid delivered and required in 2014 is almost double of 2011. After 2014,
there is a significant rise in aid, which can be attributed to the start of the civil war in Yemen.
At the start of the civil war, aid to Yemen has surpassed the required aid until 2019. In total,
16,829,403,885 billion US dollars have been sent to Yemen between 2011-2019, which is
almost more than 2 billion US dollars more than the required aid. Interestingly, we see a high
increase in total aid between the period of 2011-2019, from $300,000 to $4 billion. Yet, in the
same period, food security has decreased slightly, from 36.2% to 35.7% (figure 2).

37
Figure 7: Total aid funded and required to Yemen in USD from 2011 until 2019.

Total aid funded to Yemen

$5500000000.
$5000000000.
$4500000000.
$4000000000.
Amount (USD)

$3500000000.
$3000000000.
$2500000000.
$2000000000.
$1500000000.
$1000000000.
$500000000.
$0.
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Year

Incoming aid (USD) Required aid (USD)

Source: FTS, OCHA, 2021, Humanitarian aid contributions. Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan 2011-2019.

Now that we have established a rise in aid sent to Yemen, we will take a look at the
contributors of said aid. In figure 8 we combined the total aid and divided it by country. The
biggest contributors of aid to Yemen between 2011 and 2019 are the United Arab Emirates,
Saudi Arabia, and the United States respectively. In fourth and fifth place we have the United
Kingdom and Germany. Before 2015, most of the aid provided to Yemen was by the United
States and Europe. Only at the start of the civil war in 2015 do we see an increase in food aid
with the neighboring countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates is the
biggest contributors.

38
Figure 8: Total aid funded to Yemen divided by the biggest contributors between 2011 –
2019.

Total aid funded to Yemen by country 2011-2019 (USD)

$4000000000.
$3500000000.
$3000000000.
Amount (USD)

$2500000000.
$2000000000.
$1500000000.
$1000000000.
$500000000.
$0.
UAE Saudi USA UK Germany Kuwait Japan Qatar
Arabia
Country

Source: FTS, OCHA, 2021, Humanitarian aid contributions. Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan 2011-2019.

After discussing the total aid and the contributors, it is important to take another factor into
account; i.e. the sector to which the total aid is funded. By combining the data observed in
figures 2 and 7, the argument stands that the aid funded had no big impact on food security.
However, total aid includes more than food aid alone. Total aid includes goes into different
sectors like food security, agriculture, nutrition, health, logistics, education, etc. The two
biggest sectors being food security and health. This shows that enough food and a healthy life
are the most demanding and important objectives of humanitarian aid. In 2011 35.8% of total
aid went to improving food security. In 2019, 40.8% were sent to food security. Even though
more food aid has been sent to Yemen, the amount of food aid is on average proportionate
with the total aid between 2011 – 2019 (33.49%).

39
Figure 9: Funding sent to Yemen by sector between 2011 – 2019.

Funding by Sector
$1800000 000
$1600000 000
$1400000 000
$1200000 000
Amount (USD)

$1000000 000
$800000 000
$600000 000
$400000 000
$200000 000
$0
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Year

Food Security Nutrition Agriculture

Source: FTS, OCHA, 2021, Humanitarian aid contributions. Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan 2011-2019.

4.3.1 In-kind and cash

The WFP provides both in-kind food aid and cash-based intervention food aid. The WFP, and
their partners, provide in-kind food aid in locations where cash or voucher modalities won’t
reach their beneficiaries through their networks. In-kind food aid, and other commodities, are
transported using either commercial transports or WFP’s transport fleet, where commercial
transport is insufficient to provide support. The existing market is also a means to further
provide food aid to the beneficiaries together with the local transport and logistics
infrastructure. All in all, combining private sector traders, large importers, and local retailers,
food aid is provided on all levels including severely affected areas.

4.4 Current Situation

Between October 2020 and June 2021 there has been an increase of 2.7 million people who
are facing severe food insecurity (level 3 – crisis) with a total of 54% of the population. This
includes 11 million people who are in a crisis, 5 million in an emergency, and around 47,000
in a catastrophe. Food insecurity is the most severe in areas where the conflict is the most
predominant or areas with limited access. The most affected are the internally displaced
persons and the marginalized groups. Furthermore, the severity is higher in places where
people survive on lower-income and have poor access to public services. Lastly, aside from
the economic crisis in Yemen – a key driver of the conflict, the global pandemic of COVID-19

40
has enlarged the economic shocks which increased the levels of vulnerabilities. Now, the
Yemeni people mostly rely on food imports for survival (Food Security Cluster, 2021).

Figure 10: Current food security situation in Yemen January – June 2021.

Source: Food Security Cluster. (2021). Map of Yemen IPC Acute Food Insecurity Analysis Report. Retrieved on 3
July 2021 from https://fscluster.org/yemen/document/yemen-ipc-acute-food-insecurity-analysis

5. Conclusion

An evaluation of the impact and effect of food aid on food security was carried out specifically
in Yemen. Yemen was an ideal country for this evaluation as it constantly receives food aid
because of the ongoing conflict and its high level of food insecurity. The whole evaluation was
based on specific objectives, which were to understand what food aid and food security are;
to investigate the impact of food aid on food security and to find out whether it improves food
security or increases food insecurity; and evaluate the impact of food aid on food availability,
food accessibility and food utilization in Yemen.

The main findings show us that the level of hunger in Yemen is still rising since the start of the
Yemeni crisis, despite the humanitarian aid. Yemen is food insecure and mostly suffers from
food shortages that are a result of conflict and political instability. The cause of food insecurity
in Yemen includes the political instability that started from the reunification of North Yemen
and South Yemen in 1990, the accumulation of previous and ongoing conflicts in Yemen, and
harsh weather conditions like rain and flooding, and a desert locust plague. This further led to
the economic collapse of Yemen and all these factors led to food aid distribution in Yemen.

41
The Yemeni people are heavily dependent on food aid from outside and are generally poor.
The Yemeni government did establish the problem of food insecurity and malnutrition before
the start of the revolution. Therefore, they came up with a framework to battle food
insecurity. However, with the Yemeni Revolution breaking out and the start of the civil war,
the Yemeni government was unable to help its people. Not much can be done by the Yemeni
government in terms of a long-term solution to the problem of food insecurity, malnutrition,
and overall food shortages. They now require assistance from other governments and
international organizations.

Although food aid makes food more available, we do not see a positive impact on food
availability. Yemen continues to suffer from food insufficiency and therefore the dependency
on food aid remains extremely high. Yemen is currently the country with the least food
available according to the GFSI and lacks a food supply. The lack of food availability can be
explained by the shortcomings of Yemen’s agricultural infrastructure, poor quality roads,
social and political instability. These factors pose a huge barrier to food availability. Yemen
does not suffer from food loss. In order for food to be available, blockades need to be
prevented so that food aid can be distributed among the Yemeni population. Furthermore,
the agricultural sector needs to be revitalized so that Yemen can provide its own food. Lastly,
the overall infrastructure needs to be reconstructed for better distribution of food.

Food aid did have a positive impact on food accessibility and Yemen underwent a noticeable
improvement in regards to food accessibility. Food aid has made food accessible mainly to
vulnerable people. However, there were no noticeable developments concerning poverty
reduction, with half of the population still living under the poverty lines which makes food
accessibility still a big challenge.

Food aid did not have a positive impact on food utilization. In Yemen, people do not have
adequate incomes, and therefore the purchasing of food as a food source cannot provide the
appropriate nutrients needed to maintain an adequate diet. The dietary diversity in Yemen is
also below the global average. The quality of protein in diets is exceptionally low in Yemen,
which is a sign of undernourishment. Yemen further experiences deteriorations in food safety.
Yemen further faces both high water shortage and water quality risks. These findings on
availability, accessibility and utilization provide us an answer to our third sub-question: “To
what extent does international food aid reduce food insecurity in Yemen?”.

42
Looking at the main findings regarding food aid, two major themes can be observed. The first
theme we can observe is that food aid has been distributed to Yemen as early as 2009-2010,
meaning that during the Yemeni Revolution the people received food aid mostly from for away
countries and institutions like the United States, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom.
Only at the start of the civil war in 2015 do we see an increase in food aid with the neighboring
countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates is the biggest contributors. This
gives us an answer to our second sub-question: “Which countries have been the main
providers of international food aid in Yemen since the Arab Spring?”. A second emerging theme
is a rise in hunger and food insecurity during the Yemeni Revolution and at the start of the civil
war. Before those two major events, hunger was slowly dropping and food security was slowly
rising. Important to know is that even before the revolution and the civil war, Yemen was food
insecure and had a high level of hunger. Between the periods of 2014-2015 and 2017-2018
we see a high increase in food aid (more than double the amount). Notably, in this period we
also see a rise in hunger and a decrease in food security. Overall we see a high increase in food
aid, going from $300 000 to $4 billion. At the same time, hunger keeps increasing among the
Yemeni population and food security is lower than before the civil war and the revolution.

This still leaves us with our first sub-question: “What effect had the Arab Spring on food
insecurity in Yemen?”. The two greatest contributors to food insecurity in Yemen are definitely
political instability and war. This would also explain why Yemen had been struggling with food
insecurity even before the civil war broke out. In 2011, Yemen already recognized their
problem regarding food insecurity and were trying their best to increase food security.
However, instead of increasing and stabilizing food security, the ongoing and following crisis
only worsened their situation, which can be attributed to the Arab Spring engulfing Yemen.
We further observed a decrease in food security since the Arab Spring. However, this can at
most be described as an indirect effect.

Even though food aid has been delivered since the start of the crisis, we cannot report an
overall increase in food security. Food aid has only impacted the most vulnerable and those in
emergency need, but this is not enough to increase food security. This is can be explained by
the obstruction of food aid due to the blockades by both the Houthi rebels and the SLC.
Regarding finding a solution to food insecurity, we did find a consensus in the literature which
is also summarized by Djita & Hill (2019). To increase food security, the focus should not be

43
on food aid. Instead, we should focus on solving the problems of war, political instability, and
blockades. Only then will food aid have an impact on food security. This does not mean that
we should stop sending food aid, as it has been shown that it is beneficial to those in
emergency need. Looking back at the literature, it is no big surprise that food aid alone has
not had a big positive influence on food security as a whole. Actually, this has been noticed
by a few authors and organizations. That is precisely why international organizations
decided to shift from food aid to food assistance (see section 2.2.1). Food aid only servers
to provide food to those in need, mostly emergency food aid. This was meant for people
who are threatened with famine to not die of hunger. Food aid only provided short -term
relief. Therefore, the term to food assistance to combat malnutrition and food insecurity
by not only giving food (both in-kind and cash) but also to provide programs and projects
that will help the people to be food secure and become less dependent on food aid. To
achieve better results, a combination of humanitarian and development aid should be used
simultaneously.

To link all of this back to our main research question: “What is the impact and effect of
international food aid on food security in recent and current conditions in Yemen?”. Even
though we do not see an increase in food security, food aid does have some positive effects.
This can be explained due to the effect that food aid has on the short term and not the long
term. Emergency aid provides the people with temporary relief, but also makes them
dependent on said aid. That is why food aid projects and programs are necessary to provide
food security in long term. Although, it has been suggested that food security will not be
achieved so long the conflict is not resolved. But if we remove food aid, then we can assume
that the availability and accessibility will drop as well. In general, the Yemeni people are
still unable to feed themselves. So even though food aid has no positive or significant
impact on food security, that does not mean that it is unimportant. Secondly, there needs
to be more input from the Yemeni government, but this is related to the ongoing conflict that
creates shifts in the power balance of Yemen. All in all, Food aid should be a short-term
solution. People should not expect to receive long-term food aid and should be encouraged
to produce their own food.

The question that remains is: what can be done? I believe a combination of humanitarian and
development aid is crucial to decreasing food insecurity. As mentioned throughout this

44
dissertation, the conflict in Yemen is a protracted one. Therefore, humanitarian aid alone is
not enough. The Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus is hence important, certainly in
combination with multilateral aid. It brings and re-enforces humanitarian aid, development
aid, and peacebuilding. I further believe that a more specific approach would be more
effective in dealing with food insecurity. Meaning, taking a look at the different levels of food
insecurity and places that are affected the most (i.e. rural areas). That is also why it is
important to align aid agencies with local actors (i.e. participatory development). The WFP for
example is already practicing and administering this idea. By providing resources and
assistance to local farmers, they also revitalize local markets. So locals will be able to produce,
provide, buy and sell their own food instead of relying on food surpluses from other countries
and be dependent on that, they become more independent. This would also help local
communities to rebuild themselves. Combine this with using sustainable resources: planting
their own seeds, using solar energy, and having clean water. A combination of post-
development and sustainable development is therefore vital in my opinion. Another aspect
that came to my attention, but was not added in this dissertation is sustainable agricultural
food systems. Taking a look at the whole food system might help us find where the gaps lie.
Food security is more complex than it appears to be, so a global look could help us in providing
a better approach. Lastly, it is important that the organizations enough research the areas
they go to. Before they bring their help, it is necessary that they find out exactly what the
situation entails and that there is cooperation with the national and local actors.

5.1 Limitations and further recommendations

This research was conducted based on the methods of literature and digital data. The
obstacle with the first database (FTS) was that not every country submitted its numbers. Of
course not every country is relevant in this research paper, but some data of the
neighboring countries of Yemen and the MENA region were not submitted. It would have
been interesting to have some extra information on that. Secondly, even if the information
was found, the credibility of that information comes into question. This is a database where
states and organizations can voluntarily enter their aid-related information. As this is
voluntary, there is a risk of possible gaps in the information, as certain donors can remain
unknown meaning this data is relative and not exact. The same problem applies to the
situation and policy reports. It has not been possible to find a report for every year or every

45
situation, which doesn’t allow me to find explanations for some of the results I have found.
Furthermore, digital data is more descriptive and does not allow for a more in-depth
analysis which would have been beneficial. To counter this, interviews with experts on food
aid and food security would have allowed for a deeper analysis.

I would also recommend doing more research on the gaps of this research and what
potential alternatives are. A part that that has been fully neglected is the agricultura l and
bioengineering fields. For example, how agroecology which is a combination of science and
ecology to agricultural systems can improve production and is sustainable. This could lead
to a decrease in poverty and an increase in food security. Ethnographic research would
have allowed for first-hand observation of the situation in Yemen. Combined with
interviews with locals and farmers, would add another interesting layer. Local production
and agricultural infrastructure would contribute to food availability. However, due to
ongoing conflict in Yemen and the COVID-19 pandemic, this would have been impossible.
Lastly, a more in-depth economic study on the food markets both globally and locally could
provide additional insights and explanations to decreasing food insecurity and poverty. As
well as the effect of food prices on food crisis that causes food insecurity in a conflict
setting. Questions that might remain are (1) Sustainable productive farming approaches
that influence food aid and food security, (2) further ways of helping the people of Yemen
to produce their own food, (3) additional food aid distribution approaches that would be
suitable considering the ongoing conflict in Yemen and lastly (4) further solutions to food
insecurity in Yemen.

46
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