WASHINGTON — Yemen is widely cited as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. But Auke Lootsma, UNDP’s resident representative for the country, says it is also the worst development crisis.
“The figures show that in four years of war, the development setback has already amounted to 20 years,” Lootsma said. “Basically 20 years of development have been wiped out by four years of conflict.”
While 24 million people — 80% of the country’s population — still need humanitarian assistance, overall violence in the country has been decreasing. Lootsma, who began his career with UNDP 25 years ago working in Rwanda during the genocide, said he’s optimistic that a peace agreement may be coming in Yemen. This means the agency is currently considering how it can meet Yemen’s future development needs and how UNDP will be able to help create and maintain conditions for permanent peace.