Rise in begging caused by growing food crisis

This sight, of a woman and her child begging on Yemeni roads, has become increasingly common in the past year.

The Social Care Fund field survey teams concluded last month 51 percent of the first field survey for the eligible cases in Yemen, which were found to be 762,943 cases. 

The teams were formed by 1,849 social researchers, distributed in around 324 teams under 22 observers, with an observer for each governorate, with Hadramout having two teams.

A monitoring committee, presided over by the governor, membership of the local council’s General Secretary and the social affair’s committee manager was also formed.

Preliminary reports said that the field survey started on June 14 with a government financed budget mounting to YR 1,578,850. It is seeking to investigate the eligible poverty cases pursuant to the social care law, in order to set a comprehensive scientific data base which investigates resident areas depending on the poverty indicators of the family budget survey of 2005- 2006.

Reports say that the survey's information is immediately entered into the computer for sorting and classification. They depend, according to poverty indicators, on lack of permanent residential place, income source and lack of a daily family food income sources.

The entry process depends on the researchers' awareness training courses provided to all governorates' personnel except those of Raima, Sada, Marib and al-Juf, adding that the survey will continue until the end of next august.  Researchers face risks such as the fact that some influential persons can obstruct the work and prevent access to information. 

The cabinet cancelled the local councils' approved lists for the sake of transparent and credible information that discovers eligibility fake cases and to obtain a computer verified compatible poverty cases.  

The social care support included one million cases, whose sustenance was increased to one hundred percent, in order to meet the internationally increasing living standards demands. 

The Ministry of Social Affairs is adopting poverty fighting plans by providing soft credits for poor families' income generating projects. 

Two types of poverty are identified: the first one is food poverty, in which the income fails to meet the basic food needs. The need in this case is determined according to the costs of the individuals' daily calorie necessities. 

The second type is known as the absolute (upper) poverty, in which the individual fails to meet his food, cloths, lodging, educational, health and transport necessities.

The poverty line according to 1998 family poverty survey's findings is YR 2,101 per month, rating the individual's daily calories needs to be 2,200, in comparison toYR 3,210 per month as the highest poverty level. This level varies depending on the governorates and rural areas. 

Related Content

•  Car thefts on the rise
•  Do Yemeni painters need to be saved? Nasser al-Aswadi responds
•  Sculptures that want to be displayed on the street: Waled Dalla speaks about his work.
•  Art from Ibb: painter Nabil Muhammad al-Kahsaa Speaks
•  Nature through a camera’s lens: photographer Abdulrahman al-Ghaberi speaks.
•  Painter, poet and musician:Sabri al-Haiki speaks (VIII)
•  A Family in art: student of the Atelier group, Zaki al-Yafi speaks (VII).
•  HF promotes coordination between human rights groups in Yemen
•  The artistic scene in Sana’a: Painters speak (V), Reema Qasem.
•  Judge al-Akwa'a, the pulse of Yemeni history