If you are not yet alarmed, you should be.
The annual growth rate and the resultant size of population of the Republic of Yemen offer a scary and menacing picture.
If present fertility rates of 7.2% and an annual explosive growth rate of 3.7% continue, Yemen's present population of 17.7 million will grow to 19.6 million by 2002, to almost 22 million by 2005, and is projected to jump to 27 million in 2010, and to a crashing 40 million by the year 2020.
The situation is further complicated because of a high proportion of young people. Today, nearly 2.5 million Yemenis are under four years old, and another 5 million are between the ages of 5-14 years. Thus infants and children represent 42.4% of the total population today. Moreover, this proportion will rise to 46% by the year 2005, and to 50% by 2010.

Very little is being done to help control the explosion. In fact, the Yemeni authorities, weakened by inefficiency and corruption, fail to address the issue head-on. Family planning efforts are carried out under various schemes, none of which hit the nail on the head. As a result, the message on family planning is confused, if it is there at all.

Donor attention to this issue has financed lots of studies and meetings. Today, Yemen boasts over 32 documents on the subject. Not bad for a country that has no basic statistics. Officials and experts also continue to meet in meeting rooms and debate in hotel corridors. But the impact on the rate of population growth has been nil.
Controlling the runaway growth rate needs two steps:
a) Addressing the issue point blank and mobilizing all sectors in the effort.
b) Moving to the field by providing the tools for family planning to the public. There is no point in doing media awareness if the people have no access to the tools.

By: Khairiyah Al-Shabibi,
Yemen Times.

 

The Abyan and Aden courts say they have finished their proceedings on two separate cases. The first case involves 14 persons charged with kidnapping and hostage killing in Abyan, and the second one involves 10 persons charged with possession of arms with intent to undermine law and order.
Insiders say a "guilty" verdict is ready for announcement, and could be handed down as early as next week.
Given the many irregularities and violations during arrest, interrogation and trial, the verdict will not sit well with many circles. In fact, the families and lawyers of the accused have already made complaints against the integrity and propriety of the legal process.
Some senior Yemeni officials have reportedly intervened to prevent further complications in relations with the UK and international human rights organizations. "We should be looking for ways to redeem Yemen's image rather complicate things further unjustifiably," a senior source told Yemen Times.
As a compromise, two lines of action are reportedly being considered - either to water down the verdicts before they are announced, or to offer presidential pardons and/or reductions of sentences soon after the verdicts are announced.
Another totally different approach calls for the postponement of the verdict announcement till after the Eid Al-Adha - in three weeks. The idea is to buy more time, and reduce the level of public interest in the cases - locally and internationally.

 

Following a successful 2-day visit to New Delhi, President Ali Abdullah Saleh and his accompanying delegation arrived in Tokyo yesterday. The president's program includes extensive talks on regional and international issues, as well as on Japan's contribution to Yemen's socio-economic development process.
Yemen Times learned that the President is asking Japan to finance two large projects - an expansion of Sanaa International Airport's runway, and a new electricity plants. However, neither project is on Japan's priority list. Actually, officials in Tokyo are not interested in large projects. They are willing to continue with the present level of support - some US$ 30-35 million a year for various infrastructure and human resource development projects. But, because this is the first visit of a Yemeni head of state, Tokyo is reported to have agreed to award an additional 20 billion yen.

In India, the President had pushed for more cultural support (read, educational scholarships) and credit lines for imports. Discussions also covered the purchase of spare parts for old Russian military hard ware.