Yemen’s Ministry of Health Reins in Intl NGO’s and Asks for 7% Cut
I have a lot of posts entitled “Corruption Kills” and these normally deal with the Health Ministry and stolen donated equipment, counterfeit drugs sold in stores owned by Ministry officials, the shortage of dialysis machines (there was some shipment that was cancelled) and rural outbreaks entirely ignored by the ministry, so the fact that they are shaking down the NGO’s now is not surprising. The religious incitement against medical workers in Sa’ada is spread from mosques run by pro-government hard core Salafis associated with General Ali Mohsen. The following article is from the Yemen Times:
SANA’A, Aug. 2 — The Ministry of Public Health and Population met with international NGOs working in Yemen’s health sector last week to introduce them to the new terms and conditions aimed to accelerate the achievement of Yemen’s Millennium Development Goals.
The Ministry’s Department of General Development of Technical and International Cooperation is working towards improving its operations with international NGOs working in the health sector by improving communication and following up on plans.To achieve this, the ministry wants NGOs to work under its vision and strategies and submit periodic reports to its central office or health offices in their relevant governorates.
At the gathering attended by representatives of 24 international NGOs, specialists from the health and planning ministries introduced participants to the new terms and conditions for international NGO work in Yemen. They also discussed the priorities of the ministry as per the health sector’s review and strategy plans.
“The goal is to strengthen communication and cooperation between the Ministry of Public Health and Population, health offices and international NGOs working in the health sector,” said the ministry.
The ministry confirmed the importance of submitting periodic progress reports and continuous communication with the ministry to facilitate activities.
The new terms aim to establish an updated database for international NGOs operating in the health sector that would identify all data, activities and locations of organizations.
There are 48 international NGOs in Yemen, according to the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation.
“There are some organizations concentrate on certain governorates and it is preferable that these organizations join their efforts on certain activities. For example, there some organizations that works in Socotra and others in Sa’da. If they work in one field and in one project, the outputs and tangible results would be felt by the people,” said a representative from the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation.
There are organizations which have no agreements and are not registered at the Ministry of Planning or the Ministry of Health, he added. Even though these NGOs do excellent work, the ministry only knows of their activities through the media.
“I wanted to emphasize the fact that the international NGOs are very diverse and have a very different structure and way of operating.
These new rules will restrict some NGOs that are operating in Yemen and will prevent them from being too independent,” …
Participants welcomed monitoring but some were concerned about the government suggestion that NGOs allocate five to seven percent of their budget for government staff to do monitoring and evaluation.
“The Ministry of Health sets the standardization and criteria for the country. Unfortunately, a lot of training has been done at the governorate and district levels, and we don’t know what criteria is being used,” said Jamila Al-Ra’abi, Deputy Minister of Public Health and Population.
“Nobody asked, for example, for the criteria and this is very important in updating our information, our curricula used in training and in providing services,” she added.
The Deputy Minister of Public Health and Population Planning Sector, Dr. Jamal Nasher, referred to the medical equipment distributed by international NGOs for hospitals and clinics in Yemen. Some of this equipment is not in tandem with the standards of the Ministry of Health.
“The agreements between international NGOs and the government could be based on discussions between both parties, not just on new conditions and asking NGOs to apply them,” argued Dr. Yassin Al-Qubati, Yemen Representative of the German Leprosy Relief Association (GLRA).
“We are partners,” he said, referring to the Yemeni government and the NGOs. He also encouraged NGOs to submit an annual balance sheet.
“The meeting with ministry leaders enhances communication and can lead to avoiding annoying routines for both parties,” he added.
