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Rapid assessment report: Ahwar reception center and Mayfa reception center, Yemen - 11-14 Oct 2008

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Executive Summary

This report summarizes the outcome of a rapid assessment of the Ahwar reception center and Mayfa reception center, the entry point of al- Irqa and the village of Bir Ali carried out by one INTERSOS team between the 11th October and the 14th October 2008.

The objective of the rapid assessment was to identify the protection gaps in delivering assistance to the new arrivals since their landing to the Yemeni coast, the first assistance on the beach and the identification of the most vulnerable and at risk among the new arrivals, as well as the management of the reception center. It has been gathered protection related information and it has been assessed fact related to the safety and security.

The objectives of the rapid assessment:

a) gather protection related information connected to the identification of the most vulnerable new arrivals and evaluate possible self reliance activities.

b) identify the gaps on the protection situation on the new arrivals.

c) gather information on the response of the local community on the massive new comers.

d) identify possible protection intervention.

Although this was a protection assessment, discussions on self reliance, wat/san, health, access to basic services and humanitarian assistance were unavoidable.

As reported in other assessments, lack of psychosocial assistance has been identified as well as a poor screening of the most vulnerable among the refugees.

The lack of timely response at the entry points in terms of food, water and medical assistance and logistic measures resulted to be one of the main constraint in the assistance delivering to the new assistance.

Strong coordination mechanism among the actors, included security forces and host community is not addressed: the referral system needs to be strengthen in order to better monitor the refugees with special needs from the reception centers till Kharaz camp.

The majority of the new arrivals will anyhow remain without protection: the movements and the special vulnerability of those who decide not to be transported to the RCs and then to Kharaz will never be monitored neither reported and followed up by the international community: they can all to be considered invisible refugees.