The U.K. will work with Yemen’s local communities in an effort to help develop the country “from the bottom up,” its Department for International Development said in news release.
“Yemen is the poorest country in the Middle East, and faces potentially crippling difficulties in the near future,” said U.K. International Development Minister Mike Foster. “These range from poverty, water shortages and rising unemployment to conflict and political insecurity. Action is needed now to prevent further instability.”
DfID intends to spend 100 million pounds (USD152 million) over five years to help generate jobs, send more children to school, provide new and improved drinking water and sanitation facilities to households, offer microfinance services to women and those living in isolated rural areas, and empower district authorities so they can implement development projects in Yemen.