People stand together at a community meeting, some raise their hands.

Supporting good local governance

Supporting Good Governance in Yemen

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  • Commissioning Party

    German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)

  • Country
  • Overall term

    2021 to 2025

  • Products and expertise

    Governance and democracy

A woman speaks at a workshop in front of representatives of Yemeni non-governmental organisations.
GIZ/Gusoor/Enqath

Context

The ongoing armed conflict in Yemen has resulted in deep political and institutional divides in the country. This poses major challenges for state structures and affects the population’s opportunities to participate in public life.

Local government structures are still in place nationwide, however resources and the quality of governance vary in the different regions.

At the same time, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and grassroots initiatives are working to expand participation opportunities for the population and to ensure that their needs and interests are taken into account to a greater extent in local decision-making processes. The main challenges facing civil society actors include a lack of skills and resources, in addition to administrative constraints.

Objective

Local governance in the project areas is supported and public services have improved.

Representatives of local authorities sit and stand around a table during a training session.© GIZ

Approach

The project contributes to the development of evidence-based approaches for good local governance. Based on lessons learned by national and international development actors, it compiles six short studies with strategic and methodological recommendations to promote good local governance in Yemen.

The project strengthens the capacities for cooperation and coordination of local government structures by supporting them through suitable measures as required. For instance, it works with representatives of local authorities to build the capacities they need to fulfil their roles and responsibilities and carry out integrative and participative planning, enabling them to provide better services.

In addition, the project supports civil society actors in developing their competencies, particularly in requesting local authorities to share information on and justification for their decisions on service provision. Using innovative methods, civil society projects contribute to increasing local authorities’ awareness of the needs of Yemen’s citizens. At the same time, measures implemented by international NGOs strengthen the methodological and strategic competencies of grassroots initiatives.

Last update: March 2024

Representatives of local authorities sit at tables during a workshop
GIZ

Additional information