HIGHLIGHTS
Cessation of Hostilities declared
24 people killed, 49,000 affected by flash flooding in seven governorates
$34 m available through the Humanitarian Pooled Fund
Total population 26 m
# of people who need assistance 21.2 m
# of food insecure people 14.4 m # of people displaced 2.8m
# of children at risk of malnutrition 1.8 m # of deaths (WHO) 6,444
# of injuries (WHO) 31,091
Source: HRP and HNO-WHO
FUNDING
US$1.8 billion requested
US$294 million Funding against HRP
16% funded
In April, the Humanitarian Coordinator urged the International Community to scale up its funding support to ensure that critical needs are met.
Cessation of Hostilities declared in Yemen
A crucial respite in some areas
A Cessation of Hostilities (CoH) was declared in Yemen on 10 April, paving the way for the resumption of peace negotiations in Kuwait on 21 April. The prospect of a much needed respite in violence at a time of appalling suffering and trauma was welcomed by the humanitarian community. Since March 2015, the escalation of the conflict has taken a severe toll on the population; an estimated 21.2 million Yemenis (82 per cent of the total population) need some sort of humanitarian assistance.
Some 19.4 million people lack adequate access to clean water or sanitation and access to healthcare services for 14.1 million people has been disrupted. Over 500,000 pregnant women lack access to health care that would support safer births. WHO reports that more than 6,400 people have died and over 31,000 have been injured. However, the actual casualty numbers are likely much higher given that these figures are only from the records of functioning health facilities.
The violence has had a negative impact on food availability. An estimated 14.4 million Yemenis are food insecure, of whom 7.6 million severely so – a level of need that can only be met by external assistance.
The conflict has also had significant impact on the education system. According to UNICEF by April 2016, 1,600 schools remained closed and the conflict had forced an additional 560,000 children out of school. This is on top of the 1.6 million who were already out of school before the crisis. As such the total number of children out of school is estimated at around 2.16 million. This is a consequence of insecurity, occupation by IDPs or use by armed groups.
Displacement increased fivefold over a period of one year, with 2.8 million people reported displaced at the end of March 2016. In addition, over 176,000 people have fled the country since the intensification of the conflict, with most seeking refuge in the Horn of Africa, despite significant security and safety concerns in those countries.
Humanitarian programming during the Cessation
Despite the fact that conflict continued in some parts of the country, the CoH has largely held in April. This provided some opportunities for humanitarian partners to expand responses in certain areas, conduct assessments or directly monitor activities that up to that point had been monitored remotely. For example, in Sa’ada Governorate, UNICEF was able to re-start the rehabilitation of a water facility in Kitaf district serving some 10,000 people which had been damaged in airstrikes. Additionally, humanitarian partners delivered medical supplies to districts where access was previously more limited, including areas along the border with Saudi Arabia. The cessation also coincided with an ongoing food distribution to about 270,000 people.