On March 14, 2024, the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies announced the launch of its latest report, titled “Development is Coming: Be Careful What You Wish For.” This report is part of a series of publications which aim to assess the aid sector in Yemen, “Applying Economic Lenses and Local Perspectives to Improve Humanitarian Aid Delivery in Yemen,” a project which is directed by the Sana’a Center and funded by the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation (SDC). The report launch was hosted by the Swiss Embassy in Amman, Jordan.
This analysis, which was led by researchers Alex Harper, Dr. Nadia Al- Sakkaf, and Joel Thorpe, focused on the shifting approaches to aid operations in Yemen from emergency to long-term and sustainable interventions. For years, Yemen experts have warned that extended periods of humanitarian relief entrench dependency on aid and hamper economic recovery. At the same time, significant humanitarian needs remain in Yemen amid a worsening funding landscape. Ultimately, this report identified opportunities to strengthen engagement across the “Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus” by consulting with local and international experts to improve aid design and delivery.
The report was presented by Alex Harper on behalf of the research team and the Sana’a Center. Harper discussed his findings with representatives from the international community and aid agencies, including the OSESGY, GIZ, the EU, USAID, and representatives from the governments of the Netherlands and Switzerland. Meanwhile, Abdulghani Al-Iryani, a senior researcher from the Sana’a Center, discussed the impact of Red Sea developments on humanitarian and development aid in Yemen, emphasizing the possibility of localized development programming continuing in the absence of a peace deal and a functioning central government.
Abdulghani Al-Iryani noted that, “Recommendations from this report can better direct development aid to Yemen, and ensure the inclusion of Yemeni voices in the aid agenda.”
The Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies is an independent think tank that seeks to foster change through knowledge production, with a focus on Yemen and the surrounding region. The Center’s publications and programs, offered in Arabic and English, cover political, social, economic, and security developments, aiming to impact policy locally, regionally, and internationally.