Yemen: Annual Humanitarian Access Overview, 2020

Analysis

In 2020, humanitarian access to people in need in Yemen remained extremely challenging. Nearly 80 percent of the people in need (19.1 million people) were estimated to be living in areas that humanitarian organizations consider Hard-to-Reach (HtR) i.e. where safe, sustained and principled deliveries of assistance and services, at a scale commensurate with the assessed needs, were challenged by restrictive regulations and bureaucratic impediments, armed conflict and insecurity and logistical impediments. The HtR areas were predominantly in northern Yemen where most people in acute need of humanitarian assistance were located.

Humanitarian partners reported 4,484 access incidents across 119 districts and 20 governorates in 2020. At least 9 million people were estimated to have been affected by delayed or interrupted assistance at some point during the year. This is an increase from 2019, when 2,380 incidents were reported. The increase reflects improved reporting modalities and a continued negative trend in the access environment since the second half of 2019. Bureaucratic impediments imposed by the parties to the conflict were the most widespread type of constraint, accounting for over 93 per cent of the incidents. These affected every aspect of the humanitarian response in possible contravention of obligations under international humanitarian law (IHL) and relevant UN Security Council resolutions to facilitate humanitarian access. The large majority of incidents were reported in areas under the control of the Ansur Allah (AA) based in Sana’a, though there was an increase in the frequency and severity of access challenges reported in areas controlled by Government of Yemen (GoY).

Armed conflict continued to have a devastating impact on civilians and severely constrained access to affected populations. Over the course of the year, active hostilities and frontlines affected 45 districts, an increase from the 35 districts affected at the end of 2019. In mid-January 2020, armed hostilities escalated in border areas of Marib, Sana’a and Al Jawf governorates, with the frontline encroaching on densely populated areas in Marib Governorate. Moreover, hostilities along existing frontlines, notably in Al Hudaydah, Hajjah, Ad Dhale’e, Al Bayda, Sa’ada and Taizz governorates continued and intermittently escalated during the year. In Aden, Abyan and Taizz there were recurring tensions and clashes. The response to people in conflict-affected areas was most complex where the environment was insecure and the authorities frequently imposed arbitrary restrictions that hindered timely and regular aid deliveries.

The threat of COVID-19 disrupted humanitarian access into and within Yemen. The number of access incidents peaked in March and April when humanitarian organizations faced an unprecedented level of restrictions to their operations. During the second quarter of 2020, movement of personnel into Yemen came to a halt as the international airports in Aden and Sana’a were temporarily closed and travel restrictions in departure countries were enforced. Cargo movements by air, land and sea were severely disrupted, particularly at Hudaydah port, following the enforcement of quarantine measures, which compounded delays due to global supply chain challenges. Within Yemen, while humanitarian partners also reduced operational risks, efforts to maintain life-saving services and to scale up COVID-19 interventions were curtailed by restrictions imposed on ground movements and activities, which mainly affected northern governorates. By the end of September, most COVID-19 related restrictions were lifted though pre-existing bureaucratic impediments continued to hamper efforts to scale up and sustain programming and operational capacity.

Restrictions on the movement of humanitarian personnel and goods within and into Yemen remained the most widely reported constraint for humanitarian operations, with 1,971 and 989 incidents reported respectively. In areas controlled by AA, all types of movements, ranging from aid deliveries to routine staff travel, were challenged by delays and denials of travel permits. Notably, travel permits were arbitrarily