Informing humanitarians worldwide 24/7 — a service provided by UN OCHA

Yemen

WHO Yemen Situation Report, August 2020 - Issue No.8

Attachments

HIGHLIGHTS

• While humanitarian needs are increasing in Yemen, a significant gap in funding has worsened the situation further.

• WHO 2020 operations in Yemen require $313.5 million of which 73.3 million has been received as of the end of August, leaving 240.2 million as a shortfall.

• COVID-19 continues to claim lives in Yemen, the actual figures of cases and deaths are likely to be much higher than those being reported.

• Fifteen children have been paralyzed in a poliovirus outbreak in several districts in Sa’adah Governorate, in the north-west of Yemen. The governorate has also recorded 20 confirmed measles cases since the beginning of the year.

• Amid an ongoing fuel crisis, WHO continued its support to targeted health facilities, including with fuel provision, to ensure the functionality and continuous provision of life-saving health care services.

Situation Update

  • Yemen’s Humanitarian Operations are shutting down: By the end of August, the Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan for 2020 was 24 per cent funded, leaving the humanitarian response still woefully underfunded with US$811.5 million received out of the $3.38 billion required. The lack of funding impacts half of all the UN’s major programmes in Yemen. Already, 12 of the UN’s 38 major programmes are shut or drastically reduced. As of the end of August,
    WHO received $73.3 million of the $313.5 million it needs to run its 2020 Yemen operations, leaving 240.2 million as a shortfall.

  • COVID-19 continues to claim lives in Yemen: The number of reported confirmed cases slowed in August, with 230 new confirmed cases compared to 567 new cases reported in July. The reasons for this include a lack of testing facilities and official reporting, and people delaying seeking treatment because of stigma, difficulty accessing treatment centres and the perceived risks of seeking care. There has also been a decrease in health-seeking behaviour more generally.

  • Fuel Crisis since June 2020: A stifling fuel crisis has been ongoing since over three months causing a drastic impact on the cost of essential items, access to healthcare, and transport for people, goods and materials and holding back the humanitarian operations, leaving hundreds of thousands of people in need.

  • Torrential rains and flooding hit several governorates across Yemen, damaging infrastructure, destroying homes and shelters, causing deaths and injuries, ruining crops and killing livestock. Dams have overflowed, water supplies have been damaged, roads have been blocked, and houses have collapsed. By 29 August, estimates indicated that over 62,000 families were affected in Sana’a, Marib, Hajjah, Raymah, Al Mahwit and Al Hudaydah governorates. Families already displaced have again been badly affected by the rains and flooding.

  • Polio outbreak in Sa’adah Governorate: As of the end of August, 15 children were paralyzed in a poliovirus outbreak in several districts in Sa’adah Governorate, in the north-west of Yemen.