Highlights:
During the reporting period, UNICEF was able to reach some of the most complex, insecure and affected zones in Taiz and Sa’ada.
In Taiz, UNICEF supported the operation of the local water system reaching over 124,000 people and an additional 4,103 households in Taiz received humanitarian cash transfers. In Sa’ada, temporary water storage tanks are being connected to the water system and five mobile clinics were launched.
UNICEF launched a package of education support to IDP children in Ibb and Hajjah. In Manguriah IDP camp, seven temporary classrooms were installed, 1,200 school bag kits were distributed and 648 children received psychosocial support.
Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs
Since March 2015, the conflict has spread to 20 of Yemen’s 22 governorates, exacerbating the already critical humanitarian situation. Access constraints and limited governmental capacities, are hampering humanitarian assistance and recovery efforts.
At least 21.1 million people, including 9.9 million children, are in need of humanitarian assistance. After nine months of continued airstrikes,shelling and ground fighting, social infrastructure and basic services have collapsed, particularly national health, water and sanitation services, with over 15 million people currently lacking access to basic health services, and 19.3 million in need of water and sanitation services.
The conflict continues to force families to flee their homes, with 2.5 million Yemenis now internally displaced, about half of them are living in schools, public and abandoned buildings, tents, temporary structures, makeshift shelters or in the open; facing overcrowding and very poorsanitation conditions.
The agreement of the parties to the conflict to a temporary ceasefire from 15 December 2015, presented a long awaited opportunity for humanitarian actors to reach areas of the country that have been inaccessible for the past months. However, hostilities were reported in parts of the country during the ceasefire affecting humanitarian response.
Recent developments include the increase of food import sto pre-crisis levels. However, fuel imports are still half of what they were before the crisis and prices of basic goods remain high, increasing poverty and malnutrition among the most vulnerable populations. To mitigate the grave humanitarian situation, UNICEF continues to provide support across different sectors, including, but not limited to, health and nutrition, WASH, education, child protection and social protection.