Mid-Year Review of the Humanitarian Response Plan for Yemen 2012

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The signing of the political agreement in November 2011 signalled the beginning of a new period in Yemen‘s history, but it has not led to improvements in the humanitarian situation. Already the poorest country in the Arab world, Yemen has seen a dramatic rise in humanitarian needs, particularly among rural communities and those displaced by conflict.

The number of malnourished children under five has increased by 83% to reach 967,000 children, and the number of severely food-insecure Yemenis has more than doubled over the past two years. Ten million Yemenis, or 44.5% of the population, are now food-insecure, of whom five million are severely affected and need immediate assistance. These are among the highest levels in the world today.

The continued decline in Government service delivery has increased humanitarian needs for all social services. An estimated 300,000 children are unable to go to school due to conflict. Access to clean water has decreased significantly over the first half of 2012: only half of the Yemeni population now has access to clean water. Further reductions in access to water and primary healthcare have caused new outbreaks of fatal diseases including measles, dengue fever and acute watery diarrhoea, and a risk of re-emergence of polio.

The protection environment has deteriorated due to continuing political uncertainties, armed conflict, and limited Government capacities and state services. The protection needs of civilians in areas of armed conflict have increased, and there is a shortage of protective environments for children, especially in providing affected children with needed documentation and ensuring that the physical security for those displaced is safeguarded.

In response, humanitarian partners have adapted their strategies and ramped up capacity. International non-governmental organizations and United Nations agencies have considerably increased numbers of both locally and internationally recruited staff. Nine new international humanitarian organizations have arrived and started work in Yemen, and partnerships with local organizations have increased fourfold since November 2011, as evidenced by the number of agencies participating in this mid-year review. Capacity-building of local partners continues to increase in clusters and a comprehensive inter-agency capacity-building programme has been initiated.