Yemen Observer interviews El Tayeb Musa, Oxfam’s Yemen Office Director

El Tayeb Musa, Director of Oxfam in Yemen

Oxfam in Yemen is seeking to expand its business over the next year 2011, by scaling up its mother and child health work and expanding It to other provinces.  working in currently. Mr El Tayeb Musa, Director of Oxfam in Yemen, said the organization is currently considering the possibility of expanding its activities in Yemen during the next year, and there is an ambitious plan of the organization waiting to find the necessary funding in order to be implemented during the next year.Musa said that Oxfam is reviewing its country strategy in Yemen and will document and disseminate its development models and good practices.

Musa said, in an interview with the Yemen Observer, that Oxfam is currently working in seven provinces: Hadramout, Abyan, Taiz, al-Hodeidah, Hajjah, Amran, and Sa›adah. Oxfam is working both directly and indirectly through local partner organizations and In collaboration with government ministries and local authorities.

Musa pointed out that Oxfam›s total cost of projects in Yemen in 2010 reached about two and half millions US Dollars, while it was about one and half million US Dollars in 2009, hoping that next year will witness a great progress either in the kinds of projects, costs, or the provinces that will be covered.

According to Musa, about 30,000 displaced people from the Sa›adah war benefited from water, sanitation and hygiene promotion services that Oxfam provides to displaced people in camps in the province of Hajja and Amran.

About 100,000 people in the Hadramout province benefited from Oxfam services during the flood that took place in October 2008.

Oxfam is trying to concentrate on areas that are in desperate need for help and will wok on rehabilitation, development, humanitarian programmes. Most of Oxfam programs, according to Musa, aim at women development as they make up half of the society and constitute a great economic power that need to be developd to activate and accelerate the development process in Yemen.

Yemen Observer (YO): Could you give us a briefing about Oxfam Yemen?
El-Tayeb Musa (TM): Oxfam is a charitable international organization working in Yemen for more 27 years. It is focusing on ending poverty and suffering Implementing development and humanitarian programmes including provision of emergency relief assistance to those affected by wars and natural disasters. Oxfam also works in health care fields, focusing on mother and child health care, education, woman development and the legal protection, especially to female prison inmates.   Oxfam tries to empower women economically through the provision of small loans, building the capacity of working women by providing technical and financial assistance to them.  We implemented an emergency relief programme for the flood victims in Hadramout in the field of water, sanitation, public health promotion, and livelihoods. We have also been providing assistance on water, public health and sanitation for the displaced people from Sa›adah»

YO: What are the governorates in which Oxfam operates?
TM: we work in Hodeida, Hadramout, Aden, Abian, Taiz, Hajja, Amran and in Sa›adah. Most of the work Is done through national organisations , such as Yemeni Women Union the National Women Committee, Al-Islah Association, Soul, Al Gurfa Association, Al Mustagbal Association, and Al Irtiga Association.

YO: What are the criteria for selecting these governorates to work there?
TM: We try to choose the Governorates who are in need for development, particularly in woman fields. We prefer to work in areas where there are no other working organizations working there, in addition to disaster areas, such as the cases of Hadramout, Sa›adah and Amran.   

YO: How much are the approximate costs of Oxfam projects in Yemen?
TM:  In 2010, $ 2,500 were allocated and we seek to expand the governorates that we work in next year and on the years that follow so as to increase the development allocations in these governorates.

YO: Why does Oxfam focus on woman programs?
TM: Women have key roles to play in the development process, and they are more in need for assistance as well as the fact that addressing women needs Is a significant element in the comprehensive development process. The woman bears the greatest communal burden especially in rural areas.

Women are active and willing to do more but they are in need of extra support to contribute to development. We try to focus our efforts on supporting the government sponsored national woman strategy.

YO: How do you evaluate Oxfam relations with the government agencies?
TM: A spirit of understanding exists in our relations with the government agencies we have not encountered any difficulties or real problems all along our work with government agencies. Government agencies consider us as partners and there is continuous ongoing consultations with them as well as the direct technical support to some government departments.

The Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation provides us full support both in terms of projects implementation and facilitation of our staff movement.  Ministry of Planning is a good example for our relationship with the government agencies.

YO: What does Oxfam provide for poverty alleviation in Yemen?
TM: Poverty is a global phenomenon and there are conditions that help increasing it in Yemen. We coordinate with the Yemeni government to join efforts for addressing poverty issues. We don›t work in isolation but we integrate our efforts with the government and the other NGOs in Yemen to attract the necessary donations for the poverty alleviation programs and the provision of technical support.

YO: Finally ... Why was Oxfam missing in local media in the past years?
TM: Oxfam is known to the Yemeni society for decades, we are trying to avoid exaggerated media coverage, because the people know Oxfam and the areas it works in.  Now we have a vision for the revival of the media in the organization, but in a reasonable manner This will be within a context of creating fruitful partnerships with the Yemeni society.

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