Highlights
On 10 December, the Task Force on Population Movement (TFPM), led by UNHCR and IOM, validated in its 6th report that there are 2,509,062 internally displaced persons in Yemen.
UNHCR participated in a mission to Ibb from 14 to 31 December, which focused on developing the capacity of partners in Ibb, including trainings on needs assessment, vulnerability criteria, distribution methodologies and post distribution monitoring.
From 20 to 24 December, UNHCR in coordination with the Education Office in Sana’a, conducted a training on psycho-social support to Children Affected by Armed Conflict (CAAC) for 40 teachers and social counsellors from ten schools in Sana’a with a high number of refugee children, in addition to two participants from the Education Office in Sana’a and one participant from the Ministry of Education.
On 25 and 26 December, the UNHCR Representative conducted a mission to Sa’ada to look into re-establishing UNHCR’s presence and modalities to implement urgently needed humanitarian interventions.
OPERATIONAL CONTEXT
Yemen is a historic transit hub for mixed migratory movements of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants from the Horn of Africa to the Arabian Peninsula and beyond. Although Yemen is the poorest of the Gulf countries, it stands out in the region for its generosity towards refugees. It is the only country in the Arabian Peninsula that is a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol. Since late March 2015 with the escalation in the conflict, the already precarious humanitarian and socio- economic conditions coupled with the security situation have substantially deteriorated.
Ten months into the conflict, there have been over 6,000 deaths and 28,000 injuries as a result of the hostilities. Basic services across the country are on the verge of collapse. Nearly 600 health facilities have stopped functioning due to damage or lack of fuel, staff and supplies. Many public water and sewage corporations have closed down; often due to lack of fuel. Over 6 million people in cities have had their water supply cut or disrupted.
An additional 1.8 million children have been out of school since March. In parts of the country, authorities are unable to pay salaries to doctors, nurses and teachers. The already fragile economy has been further impacted due to damage to roads and markets, and the loss of jobs for hundreds of thousands of people who subsequently have used up their savings. The staple food, wheat, costs 57% more on average than pre-crisis and the price of cooking gas and other fuel has more than tripled. Critical needs, which UNHCR and partners address includes shelter, protection services, cash assistance, livelihood opportunities, food and health care.
UNHCR and partner AMIDEAST launched the Tawasul (dialogue in Arabic) call centre in Sana’a on 17 December. The centre promotes community engagement and accountability through a two-way channel of communication with persons of concern countrywide to receive information concerning their needs, to inform them about how, when and where to access services, and to provide them with other pertinent information. Operators also collect reactions and complaints for follow-up and to assess access and quality of assistance.