March 31, 2017

Highlights

• March 2017 marks two years since the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia-led Coalition began airstrikes on Al Houthi and allied forces in Yemen.
• An estimated 17 million people in Yemen are experiencing acute levels of food insecurity—an increase of 20 percent since June 2016.

Key Developments

The IPC Technical Working Group estimates that approximately 17 million people in Yemen will experience IPC 3—Crisis—or IPC 4—Emergency—levels of food insecurity between March and July 2017.4 Yemen’s acutely food-insecure population has increased by approximately 20 percent since June 2016.

U.S. Deputy Representative to the UN Ambassador Michele J. Sison addressed the UN Security Council (UNSC) on March 10 and urged all parties to the Yemen conflict to allow unfettered access for humanitarian aid and commercial imports, highlighting that conflict-affected populations in Yemen are at risk of experiencing Famine—IPC 5— levels of food insecurity.

On March 16, an attack by unconfirmed armed forces resulted in the deaths of more than 40 civilians, primarily Somali refugees, aboard a privately contracted boat approximately 30 miles from Al Hudaydah Port on Yemen’s western coast, according to international media.

Persistent insecurity along Yemen’s western coast, as well as port and overland transportation restrictions, has hindered humanitarian access and negatively affected the import and delivery of commercial and humanitarian commodities, such as food and fuel. UN agencies and other relief organizations, including USG partners, continue advocating to parties to the conflict for increased humanitarian access and secure transport routes to reach conflict-affected populations in need of urgent relief assistance.

INSECURITY, POPULATION DISPLACEMENT, AND HUMANITARIAN ACCESS

March 2017 marks two years since the coalition led by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) began airstrikes on Al Houthi and allied forces in Yemen, a conflict that has left nearly 70 percent of the population in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the UN. Insecurity persists throughout the country, particularly affecting Al Jawf, Hajjah, Marib, Sana'a, and Ta’izz governorates, impeding the delivery of emergency food supplies and health services, as well as the transportation of life-saving medicines and medical supplies.

Clashes between Al Houthi forces and the KSA-led Coalition along Yemen’s western coast had displaced more than 48,400 people from and within Ta’izz Governorate from January to mid-March, according to USG partner the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The fighting was hindering access to approximately 35,000 people displaced within Ta’izz as of March 15, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Exclusive of the recent displacement, Al Hudaydah, Ibb, and Ta’izz governorates cumulatively host approximately 25 percent of Yemen’s population of internally displaced persons (IDPs), or nearly 504,000 individuals, UNHCR reports.

On March 16, an attack by unconfirmed armed forces resulted in the deaths of more than 40 civilians, primarily Somali refugees, aboard a privately contracted boat approximately 30 miles off the coast of Al Hudaydah Governorate, according to international media. UNHCR, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and other organizations called for an investigation following the incident.

In mid-March, the Logistics Cluster—the coordinating body for humanitarian logistics activities, comprising UN agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and other stakeholders—published a contingency plan for Al Hudaydah Port, outlining security and logistics mechanisms for humanitarian agencies to utilize if the port becomes unavailable. In the event that Al Hudaydah Port becomes unavailable, humanitarian organizations would reroute relief supplies to the Port of Aden and potentially use overland transport routes from Oman or Saudi Arabia. However, the Logistics Cluster emphasized that the use of alternative routes would not offset the loss of access to Al Hudaydah Port.

In a statement to the UNSC on March 10, Ambassador Sison called on all parties to the conflict in Yemen to reduce obstructions to humanitarian aid and commercial imports, including the transport and delivery of food, fuel, and medical supplies. Ambassador Sison highlighted that populations in Yemen are at risk of experiencing Famine levels of food insecurity without improved access to commercial goods and humanitarian assistance. Ambassador Sison also called on member states to increase funding for humanitarian assistance activities in Yemen and for social safety net cash-transfer programs.

On March 22, USAID’s Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance (USAID/DCHA) Acting Assistant Administrator Gregory C. Gottlieb testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations to discuss the unprecedented level of humanitarian needs globally, highlighting the deteriorating level of food security in Yemen and the positive impact of USG humanitarian assistance.

FOOD SECURITY AND LIVELIHOODS

In mid-March, the IPC Technical Working Group published a report indicating that an estimated 17 million people are acutely food insecure, including approximately 6.8 million people experiencing Emergency levels of food insecurity and an estimated 10.2 million people experiencing Crisis levels of food insecurity. While the number of people facing acute food insecurity increased by approximately 20 percent since July 2016, food security conditions in Ad Dali’, Al Bayda’, and Al Jawf governorates—which are currently experiencing Crisis levels of food insecurity—would likely have deteriorated to at least Emergency levels of food insecurity without humanitarian assistance. Rising commodity and fuel prices, as well as ongoing conflict, blockages to commercial and humanitarian imports, continued population displacement, and limited humanitarian access will likely result in further deterioration of food security conditions in Yemen through July, according to the report.

Yemen received more than 321,200 metric tons (MT) of commercial and humanitarian food commodity imports in February, representing approximately 40 percent less than in January, according to the Logistics Cluster. Specifically, the Logistics Cluster reported a 34 percent decrease in the amount of food commodities imported through Al Hudaydah Port—Yemen’s largest port and entry point for approximately 70 percent of Yemen’s imports—as the majority of commercial liners have scaled back or suspended shipments to Al Hudaydah, rerouting cargo to the Port of Aden or other transshipment hubs in the region. Although commercial food imports decreased between January and February, the amount of food imported in January was more than 140 percent higher than in December, highlighting the fluctuating nature of maritime imports in Yemen.

USAID/FFP partner the UN World Food Program (WFP) reached approximately 5.3 million beneficiaries across Yemen with reduced emergency food rations in February—the highest number of people reached in one month to date. WFP also distributed commodity-based vouchers to more than 182,500 people in Amanat al-Asimah and Sana’a governorates in February.

As of March 28, WFP had delivered emergency food assistance to nearly 2.5 million people in 18 Yemeni governorates, accessing approximately 44 percent of the 6 million people that WFP planned to reach in March. The UN agency also initiated emergency food distributions in Kharaz Refugee Camp in Lahij Governorate, approximately 80 miles north of the city of Aden, providing assistance to approximately 9,100 refugees—or an estimated 52 percent of the planned 17,500 beneficiaries—as of mid-March.

HEALTH, NUTRITION, AND WATER, SANITATION, AND HYGIENE

Availability of and access to fully functional health facilities remains a challenge for people in Yemen, with more than 14.8 million people lacking access to basic health care services, according to the UN. Prior to March 2015, Yemen had one of the highest rates of chronic malnutrition globally; however, the collapse of Yemen’s health care infrastructure, the increase in cases of cholera and other infectious diseases, and the ongoing conflict have exacerbated the prevalence of acute malnutrition across the country, the IPC Technical Working Group reports.

The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) reported that approximately 52,800 pregnant women are at risk of life-threatening complications during childbirth. Although fewer than half of the health facilities in Yemen are fully functioning, with less than 40 percent of the functioning facilities able to provide maternal and newborn health services, a USAID/OFDA partner treated nearly 700 pregnant women in Abyan, Ad Dali’, Aden, and Lahij governorates with antenatal care services from March 1–15.

USG partner the UN World Health Organization (WHO) reported nearly 90 suspected cholera cases and at least three cholera-related deaths from March 6–12. The new cases add to the more than 23,500 cumulative suspected cases of cholera and nearly 110 associated deaths reported since October 2016. The incidence of cholera in Yemen has declined since its peak in December 2016; however, health actors are concerned that deteriorating humanitarian conditions could contribute to increased cholera prevalence in the coming months.

In early March, health officials in Sana’a led a two-day workshop to discuss the status of current cholera cases and response, the UN reports. Participants identified challenges to case management, agreed on information sharing practices, and developed a national preparedness and response strategy for cholera risk reduction.

As of March 9, national health authorities, with support from WHO and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), reached more than 5 million children five years of age and younger with oral polio vaccine and provided more than 4.3 million children with vitamin A supplements in all governorates, according to the UN. Launched on February 20, the campaign deployed approximately 40,000 health professionals countrywide and utilized mobile health teams to access children most at risk.

The IPC Technical Working Group reported that global acute malnutrition levels in Abyan, Al Hudaydah, Hadramawt, and Ta’izz governorates exceeded the WHO Critical threshold—indicating that more than 15 percent of children were experiencing acute malnutrition—as of January. The Republic of Yemen Government Ministry of Public Health and Population (MoPHP), with support from a USAID/OFDA partner, screened nearly 2,000 children for acute malnutrition and admitted approximately 230 children for severe acute malnutrition (SAM), in Abyan, Ad Dali’, Aden, Lahij, Sana’a, and Shabwah governorates from March 1–15. The USAID/OFDA partner provided SAM technical support and coaching to MoPHP health staff and delivered nutrition supplies to affected districts in the six governorates.

With USAID/OFDA funding, a NGO partner produced approximately 852,000 liters of safe drinking water through rehabilitated water points for 40 conflict-affected communities in Abyan and Lahij between March 1 and 16, and distributed sufficient chlorine tablets to ensure water treatment activities continue in Lahij through March. With USAID/FFP funding, the NGO conducted the fifth round of emergency food voucher distributions to approximately 1,200 households in Lahij during the same time period. All households also received nutrition awareness education

PROTECTION AND SHELTER

Yemen’s conflict has disproportionately impacted women and children—who comprise a majority of all displaced people in the country. As of January, the two-year conflict in Yemen had resulted in the deaths of more than 1,500 children, constituting nearly 20 percent of total casualties, the UN reports. The conflict had also resulted in the injuries of nearly 2,500 children. In addition, Yemen has one of the highest maternal mortality ratios in the region with 365 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, according to UNFPA. Approximately 2.2 million women of childbearing age are in urgent need of assistance and protection as of January, and 2.6 million women and girls are at risk of genderbased violence, with more than 10,000 cases reported in 2016, UNFPA reports.

UNHCR delivered emergency relief assistance, including blankets, kitchen sets, mattresses, and water containers, to more than 14,000 people, as well as emergency shelter kits to more than 18,000 people, in Ta’izz as of March 10. Specifically, UNHCR delivered blankets, kitchen sets, and mattresses to approximately 3,400 people in Al Mokha District—one of the most affected districts in Ta’izz.

OTHER HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE

On March 17, the Government of Canada announced $34 million in additional funding to support humanitarian response efforts in Yemen. The funding is part of an allocation to meet the food security needs of more than 20 million people in Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, and Yemen who are facing deteriorating levels of food security.

From April 2015 to March 2017, the Government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) provided $536 million in humanitarian funding to the Yemen crisis response. The funding supported polio and measles vaccinations for nearly 490,000 children in 11 governorates, as well as the delivery of more than 170,000 MT of emergency food assistance and more than 110 MT of medication and medical supplies to conflict-affected populations, according to the UAE.

PUBLIC DONATION INFORMATION

The most effective way people can assist relief efforts is by making cash contributions to humanitarian organizations that are conducting relief operations. A list of humanitarian organizations that are accepting cash donations for disaster responses around the world can be found at www.interaction.org.

USAID encourages cash donations because they allow aid professionals to procure the exact items needed (often in the affected region); reduce the burden on scarce resources (such as transportation routes, staff time, and warehouse space); can be transferred very quickly and without transportation costs; support the economy of the disaster-stricken region; and ensure culturally, dietary, and environmentally appropriate assistance.

More information can be found at:
- USAID Center for International Disaster Information: www.cidi.org or +1.202.821.1999.
- Information on relief activities of the humanitarian community can be found at www.reliefweb.int.