The UK's first Special Envoy for Famine Prevention and Humanitarian Affairs Nick Dyer, in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, warned that thousands of Yemenis risk famine and urged allocating more resources in support of the humanitarian response.
Dyer, who is on his first Gulf tour since his appointment as special envoy last September, said Saudi Arabia was “absolutely central over the last couple of years in preventing famine in Yemen,” and praised the Kingdom’s support of the Yemen Central Bank and UN agencies.
The envoy also shed light on how “conflict, Covid and climate change,” are compound factors in aggravating the loss of food security around the world, and expressed worry over the worsening of matters in four specific countries: Yemen, Burkina Faso, South Sudan, and Northeast Nigeria.
A New Role
“I was appointed when the FCDO was created on the 3rd of September and it was a reflection of the fact that the UK government is genuinely concerned that there are growing risks of food insecurity and famine conditions in a range of countries,” Dyer said.
“And we think that there are a number of countries that are already facing emergency levels of food insecurity. And if you look at the compound of factors of conflict, Covid and climate change, there are probably 10 to 11 countries that genuinely run the risk of their situation giving worse,” he added.
“And of those, we are particularly concerned about four countries/areas in the world: Yemen, Burkina Faso, South Sudan, and Northeast Nigeria.
“My role is really twofold. It's partly about making the case with other countries. So the Diplomatic side in terms of raising resources, but also, asking ourselves the question: What more can we do through our diplomatic leaders to improve humanitarian access as well as resources. So this isn't just about money. This is also about the wider question of how to use our diplomatic leaders to improve humanitarian access.”
Visit to Saudi Arabia
“It's my first trip to the gulf and to Saudi Arabia, and I have been looking forward to it because Saudi Arabia and the UK, are some of the world's largest humanitarian donors. And for me, this is an opportunity to do a number of things,” Dyer noted.
“First of all, to share our analysis of what we're seeing around the world and whether we got a shared analysis of that. I also want to discuss how we can further strengthen our humanitarian partnership, particularly in the world's most pressing food security risks,” he explained.
“And thirdly, Saudi Arabia was absolutely central over the last couple of years in preventing famine in Yemen, through what they did in terms of providing additional support to the Central Bank of Yemen, but also to the UN agencies and to explore what more we're doing and what more we could do to alleviate what is clearly a growing problem in Yemen.”
Yemen Crisis
“The timing of my visit and this conversation coincides with the latest assessment of what's happening in Yemen in terms of food insecurity, and it's deeply worrying.”
“If you look at the number of people who are struggling every day to meet their basic food conditions, or are facing increased risks of serious illness or death, there's about 13 and a half million people now in Yemen who are in that situation and the assessment also tells us there are over 16,000 men women and children who are facing famine conditions,” Dyer recounted.
“And let's be clear what that means, that means risk of either starving to death or being so weak that you can die of disease. It's a really bad situation to be in.”
“And the projections are that this is just going to get worse over the next six months, and the numbers in famine conditions will rise to about 47,000 as a prediction,” the special envoy warned.
“All our experiences tell us not to wait until a famine is declared before acting. So if you look at the last big famine in 2011 Somalia, the forecast was that 250,000 people died from food insecurity. But most of those people died before the famine was declared. So people are dying now, and so we absolutely have to act now.
“And a part of my role and that of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia is to raise the alarm bells and to make the case for more resources to be put into humanitarian response, and particularly to Yemen,” Dyer stressed.
“The fiscal impacts of all countries from Covid is significant. We've seen it. You've seen it in the UK, but this is all about making choices.”
“And this is all about targeting the limited resources that we got in the right places. And Yemen is definitely one of those right places.”
Houthis Designation
“Now, we encourage all parties to engage with the UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths and the peace process, because ultimately the only way we're really going to resolve the crisis that Yemen is facing is through peace process,” Dyer affirmed.
“And in terms of the designation of the Houthis, all I understand is that conversation is still ongoing. And it's important with any designation, as we've seen in Somalia, to ensure there are exemptions for humanitarian delivery. And we would hope that that conversation would happen in the context of the conversation in Yemen. But as I say, that conversation is still ongoing, ” he clarified.
He added: "Access is always a problem in conflicts, everywhere around the world. And whether that's access to food or access to fuel, because lack of fuel drives up food prices, and makes water distribution harder. And access is something that we all need to be deeply concerned about."
"And the main thing with access is you just got to have an ongoing conversation at all levels, and with all parties to the conflict to ensure that people understand what their responsibilities are under international law, and that they live up to those responsibilities.”
South Sudan
“With South Sudan, we're expecting the new food security assessment to be coming out in the next few weeks,” Dyer revealed.
“I was in Jonglei state, where I came across people who are facing disruption and displacement because of the conflict, but there's also flooding up to thigh level. It's really desperate,” he said.
“And again, the compound impacts of Covid and climate as well and conflict is just exacerbating and increasing the numbers of people facing food insecurity, and we had good conversations with the government about the peace deal that was agreed in 2018, and how to make it still stick particularly at the state level.”
“And again, this is the same as everywhere. What we need is funding, we need access, we need peace,” he underlined.
UK Aid Cuts
“The thing we should recognize is that the cuts were an exceptional response to an exceptional circumstance,” Dyer emphasized.
“But even then, we still have a 10 billion pound a year in Aid budget. We remain one of the largest aid donors in the world in terms of our share of GDP, and the Prime Minister has been very clear that we will continue to deliver an ambitious humanitarian agenda and to protect those most in need.”
“As a special Envoy, it's really good to hear that commitment. But you know part of my role is also to lobby for others to raise more resources,” he concluded.
“And as I said before, it's not all about money. The root cause of most of these food crises is conflict, and one of my key priorities is to see how we can use diplomacy to ensure access for those most in need and to support peace processes where they are in operation.”
“So yes, it's tough, but we still have a big budget and we have big commitments on the humanitarian side. And my expectation is that we will still remain one of the largest humanitarian donors in the world.”
