Yemen

As delivered

Good afternoon everybody. I am really thrilled to be here.
Let me start by saying a very happy 50th birthday Concern Worldwide and congratulations.
Thank you, it is a pleasure to be here with you today to celebrate Concern Worldwide’s 50th anniversary.

And it does bear repeating, as Ciarán (Ciarán Cannon, Ireland’s Minister for the Diaspora and International Development) said, you started as a result of the famine in Biafra in 1968.

CONFLICT AND HUNGER - FACTS & FIGURES

Of the more than 800 million hungry (i.e. chronically food insecure) people in the world, about 490 million live in countries affected by conflict. That’s 60 percent of the world’s hungry people.

Six out of 10 people facing acute food insecurity are in countries plagued by conflict or insecurity (in other words, more than half of the 124 million acutely hungry people living in 51 countries are in parts of the world where there is fighting or violence).

Gisela Vallès is medical team leader at the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) hospital in Abs, the capital of the district of the same name in northern Yemen.

Increased fighting in the region in recent weeks is causing new waves of displacement.

In this interview, Gisela explains the challenges and obstacles her team face in providing assistance to the displaced groups and host communities.

How is the conflict affecting people in the district of Abs?

Thus far, 2018 has been historic in many ways. Eritrea and Ethiopia signed a landmark declaration of peace and friendship on 9 July, casting aside decades of hostility in a matter of weeks. The announcement of the end to the state of war was met by widespread jubilation in both countries, and was matched by concrete acts of rapprochement, which included reopening telephone and air links as well as the Eritrean embassy in Ethiopia.

Migration Resource & Response Centers (MRRCs) are situated along key migration routes, where they fill critical gaps by providing direct assistance, including food and temporary shelter, medical assistance and service referrals to migrants. Working collaboratively, MRRCs bring together key partners to facilitate the identification of migrants in vulnerable situations, and ensure that they receive appropriate, immediate and longer-term support. The services provided by each MRRC vary based on location and needs.

Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore

NEW YORK, 18 October 2018 - "Millions of desperate children and families across Yemen could soon be without food, clean water or sanitation services because of the deepening economic crisis and unrelenting violence in the port city of Hudaydah. The confluence of these two factors is likely to make the horrific reality facing children and families even worse as more and more war-weary people face the very real prospect of death and disease.

This monthly digest comprises threats and incidents of violence affecting the delivery of aid. It is prepared by Insecurity Insight from information available in open sources.

Security Incidents and Access Constraints

Africa

Burundi

ROME –Une récente étude du Programme Alimentaire Mondial (WFP), dévoilée le jour de la journée mondiale de l’alimentation, démontre que la nourriture est moins accessible que jamais dans les pays touchés par des crises et des conflits. Dans des dizaines d’autres pays, le rêve d’un repas nutritif reste inaccessible pour des millions de personnes en raison d’un prix constant bien trop élevé.

Executive Summary

Situation Overview

Thousands of people have been displaced by Tropical Cyclone “Luban” that made landfall on the coast of Yemen on 14 October. Three people are confirmed dead, 14 missing and more than 100 injured according to the Al Maharah Emergency Operations Room.

The cyclone lost strength and has been downgraded to a Tropical Depression as of 15 October. In the last three days, several districts have been flooded following heavy rains, causing a significant number of houses to collapse.

In September, a total of 26,212 movements were observed at Flow Monitoring Points. This represents a significant decrease in comparison with August when 34,219 movements were observed; this decrease is attributed to the closure of five FMPs due to budgetary constraints as well as the decrease of movements in Bossasso and, to a lesser extent, Buuhoodle. The great majority of flows identified (68%) were incoming against 32% outgoing, reaching levels comparable to July 2018.

Palestinian-Israeli violence continued last week throughout Palestine, with a major increase occurring in the West Bank due to Israeli raids and attacks by settlers on locals, and vice versa. In Iran and Bahrain, demonstrations and civil unrest continued, while in Turkey the investigation into the alleged murder of a journalist in the Saudi consulate carried on with international scrutiny. In Iraq, the increase in attacks on civilians continued in Baghdad and across the country.

SANA’A – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a new £25 million (US$33 million) contribution from the United Kingdom to support more than 1.2 million people in Yemen, amid mounting fears of a potential famine in the country.

By Ciaran Gallagher

The UN has warned that Yemen is facing potentially “the worst famine in the world in 100 years”.

More than five million people are at immediate risk of starvation with the UN estimating that an additional 8 million are at risk in the short to medium term.

Lise Grande of the UN this week said: “We predict that we could be looking at 12 to 13 million innocent civilians who are at risk of dying from the lack of food.”

End the war

This report is produced by OCHA in collaboration with humanitarian partners. It is issued by the OCHA Yemen office. The next report will be issued when additional information on the emergency becomes available.

I. Situation Overview

ESCALATED ARMED CONFLICT IN AL HUDAYDAH GOVERNORATE

Africa

Cameroon

13 August 2018: In Ngo-Ketunjia division, Northwest province, an arson attack of unknown origin completely destroyed the administrative building of the Government Bilingual High School Ndop. Source: Cameroon-Info

Ivory Coast

27 August 2018: In Sikensi town, Lagunes district, a group of men armed with Kalashnikovs and dressed in military fatigues attacked and looted a school before tying up and beating a member of staff.
Source: ACLED

Niger

Threats and violence affecting emergency care

Asia

Nepal

22 September 2018: In Rajbiraj city, Saptari region, Sagarmatha zone, the emergency ward of the Gajendranarayan Singh Sagarmatha Zonal Hospital was vandalized by locals who claimed that doctors had pronounced dead a child who was still living. Source: ACLED

Middle-East and North Africa

Libya

• The passage of Tropical cyclone LUBAN from 8 to 14 October has caused flooding in the coastal district of Al Maharah Governorate in Yemen and in several areas of the border with Oman.
  
• According to media reports, as of 17 October, three people died, 33 are injured and 2 000 families were affected in Al-Maharah (Yemen).
  
• Over the next 24 hours, moderate to locally heavy rain over south-west Yemen and the coastal governorates may continue to affect the country, including the areas already flooded.