This is a summary of what was said by the UNHCR spokesperson at today’s Palais des Nations press briefing in Geneva.

In Yemen, UNHCR has recorded the arrival of over 30,000 refugees and migrants so far this year. Most are Ethiopian nationals, with the rest coming from Somalia and a very small number from other African countries. In total, and since 2006 when UNHCR began gathering data, close to half a million people (477,000) have arrived in Yemen by taking the perilous boat journey from the Horn of Africa.

Executive Summary

Impact of Humanitarian Crisis on Refugees and IDPs

Yemen remains in the midst of a complex emergency and humanitarian needs continue to grow at an alarming rate. Yemen has been receiving an unprecedented influx of people fleeing from the Horn of Africa across the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea in search of safety, protection and better economic opportunities. However, with the worsening economic situation and insecurity in Yemen, many refugees who were once self-reliant have become increasingly vulnerable.

About 180,000 IDPs returning to the Abyan Governorate will require protection, relocation options and non-food items such as shelter repair kits.

UNHCR Operation highlights

Somalia is the country generating the third highest number of refugees in the world, after Afghanistan and Iraq.

Somali people are facing one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world today. One in three Somalis is in urgent need of humanitarian assistance and one in every three children living in the South-Central region is malnourished.

UNHCR leads protection and emergency relief interventions targeting 700,000 IDPs out of a total IDP population estimated between 1.1 and 1.36 million and over 2,300 refugees in Somalia.

Background