Poverty in Yemenis’ viewpoints [Archives:2007/1087/Reportage]

By: Abdull-Wadood Al-Ghaili
For Yemen Times
Poverty is a very dangerous soci-economic phenomenon in Yemen especially after the poor increased and situations of a large category of population worsen. It is firmly connected with the weak performance of economy, facing external and internal shocks particularly in the middle of the nineties. It was reflected by the budget, deficiency of payments balance, inflationary pressures, deterioration of foreign fund reserves, national currency rate and administrative and regulatory imbalances. It was just mere predictions to talk about the level of poverty in Yemen. No studies or field surveys were conducted.

However, the recent indicators of the main unit of poverty monitoring, in the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, showed that poverty ratio declined from 41,8 percent of the population to 35,5 percent in 2005.In light of this, the soci-economic development plan was determined 2006-2010 aiming at minimizing poverty ratio gradually to 24,8 percent in 2010 with 10,7 percent .This is in comparison with the current situation under the economic growth rate, 5 percent.

Dr. Mohammed.A.Afandi, the head of Yemeni Center for Strategic Studies, criticized the government future initiatives in fighting poverty included in the development plan. He said, “The government attempts to reduce poverty ratio at 10