Update

Further to assisting the asylum seekers coming from abroad, in the recent past, INTERSOS has extended its relief activities in the governorates of Lahij, Abyan and Aden to respond to the sudden internal displacement of Yemeni people victims of violence within the country. The humanitarian organization has been active in the area since 2008, with projects targeting, so far, the asylum seekers and migrants crossing the Gulf of Aden to escape the war in the Horn of Africa.

Providing assistance to the national needy communities is a peculiar change with respect to the original Intersos program. From the early assessments carried out by the staff, the internally displaced Yemeni population is missing basic survival tools. In particular gaps have been identified in the water, sanitation and health sectors, with a particular need for hygiene tools, as the most fragile groups – as children and women – are now exposed to risks of epidemics and do not have access to water of a decent quality. Moreover aid workers have stressed that the lack of sanitation facilities represents a key challenge. Further specific needs surfaced from the assessment, in particular the elderly, children under 5, and pregnant and lactating women should be given high priority in the forthcoming emergency program.

At the moment the international response seems to be limited in scope with the bulk of the activities and donations coming directly from host communities. This is linked to the low number of humanitarian actors providing relief, and the security concerns that have urged many agencies to scale down the presence of their international staff. Therefore many IDPs have found shelter in schools or are hosted by locals who are providing basic food and non-food items. However, given the widespread condition of poverty that characterizes the area under assessment, the international community cannot any longer ignore the rapidly growing humanitarian crisis.

Against this assessment INTERSOS began to distribute Non Food Items in the schools in order to address the most immediate needs of the population. Moreover counseling activities are now underway to help IDPs who have suffered traumas paying special attention to the needs of vulnerable groups.

Given the ongoing situation of instability in the country, INTERSOS advocates for a more decisive international support for relief activities. It is essential to provide food and non-food items to the population and to guarantee that basic hygiene practices are respected in order to avoid the political crisis to turn into a humanitarian catastrophe.

Needless to say, in responding to the actual outbreak of political unrest, it is crucial that international donors provide adequate funding to humanitarian agencies. It is absolutely necessary that the new domestic crisis do not impact negatively in the meager and inadequate aid given to migrants and asylum seekers fleeing conflicts in the Horn of Africa, and who are steadily arriving in the area of Aden. Therefore a new effort by international donors must mobilize fresh funding in order to both face the desperate situation of the Somali refugees while alleviating the more and more appalling conditions of the internally displaced Yemeni population.

Intersos, Via Aniene 26/A Rome,
20 June 2011