SANAA, Yemen, July 27 (UPI) -- The World Bank urged Yemen Wednesday to continue economic reforms started in 1995, noting that this country's biggest challenge is fighting poverty.
A source at the World Bank in Yemen said poverty affects more than half of the Yemeni population of 20 million, stressing that "it is a challenge for the Yemenis to fight poverty."
"Since Yemen joined the World Bank in 1996, the bank has been undertaking constant consultations and coordination with the Yemeni government on ways to improve economic and living conditions of the Yemeni people," said the source.
But Yemeni economists have been arguing that the government's 5-year plan and strategy for combating poverty have failed, leaving the government the only option of lifting subsidies on basic commodities including fuel.
Riots in which more than 50 people were killed swept Yemen last week after the government decided to end subsidies for oil derivatives, which sent prices skyrocketing by 110 percent in some instances.
