KEY DEVELOPMENTS

• From June 19 to 21, USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah traveled to Yemen to discuss humanitarian and development issues in the country with high-level representatives from the Republic of Yemen Government (RoYG)—including President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi and Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi—and members of the international humanitarian and development communities. During the visit, Administrator Shah announced plans to provide up to $52 million in additional U.S. Government (USG) assistance to Yemen, including approximately $23 million in humanitarian assistance. Administrator Shah’s announcement brings total USG humanitarian and development assistance in FY 2012 to approximately $170 million, including nearly $105 million in humanitarian assistance. The additional humanitarian assistance will help address the humanitarian needs of conflict-affected populations across Yemen through the distribution of emergency relief supplies and food assistance, as well as support for nutrition and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) interventions.

• Prior to Administrator Shah’s visit, Nancy Lindborg, Assistant Administrator for USAID’s Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance (AA/DCHA), traveled to Yemen’s capital city of Sana’a from June 1 to 3 to discuss humanitarian issues with the RoYG, U.S. Embassy in Sana’a, USAID/Yemen, and international humanitarian community representatives. During her visit, AA/DCHA Lindborg announced an additional $6.5 million in humanitarian assistance to Yemen to address the needs of vulnerable and conflict-affected populations in the country.

• On May 12, RoYG forces launched an offensive aimed at reclaiming towns and cities controlled by militant groups in Abyan Governorate. As of June 15, the RoYG had recaptured Zinjibar, the provincial capital of Abyan Governorate, as well as Shuqra and Ja’ar towns, according to the RoYG and international media. By June 12, conflict had displaced an estimated 32,000 people in Abyan, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Approximately 16,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs)—one-half of the total number of people displaced—are in Khanfar District, while other individuals have moved to nearby Al-Wadeah, Lawder, and Rasad districts in Abyan Governorate, OCHA reports. However, roadblocks and fighting have limited humanitarian access and the movement of affected populations, particularly to Lahij and Aden Governorates, with the road between Abyan and Aden governorates closed as of June 12, according to OCHA.

• Insecurity throughout Yemen continues to affect relief agencies and humanitarian access. On June 20, an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) staff member was killed while on duty in Abyan. Circumstances behind the incident remain unclear, ICRC reports. As of June 20, Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) had temporarily suspended activities in Aden Governorate following an attempted removal by armed individuals of a patient in a MSF-run health facility in the governorate. MSF plans to resume activities once the organization receives assurances from local authorities and community leaders that the event represents an isolated incident.

• USAID’s Office of Food for Peace (USAID/FFP) has approved approximately $19.4 million in new emergency food assistance in response to the ongoing food security crisis in Yemen. The assistance includes $15 million in Title II in-kind food aid for the U.N. World Food Program’s (WFP) Emergency Safety Net (ESN) program, serving 1.8 million severely food-insecure individuals in 13 governorates. USAID/FFP also provided nearly $4.4 million to Save the Children/U.S. (SC/US) for food vouchers and nutritional training activities targeting approximately 72,000 people—or 9,000 households—in Al Huydadah, Amran, and Hajjah governorates.

• In FY 2012, the USG is providing nearly $105 million in humanitarian assistance to Yemen, including more than $17.2 million from USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA), approximately $68 million from USAID/FFP, and approximately $19.7 million from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (State/PRM). USG humanitarian assistance to Yemen addresses the humanitarian needs of IDPs, refugees, and other vulnerable individuals throughout the country.