Against the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation, the threat of famine and the urgent need for resources, a High-Level Pledging Conference for the Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen was convened in Geneva on 25 April 2017. International donors pledged nearly $1.1 billion to help scale up life-saving aid to millions of people in need. Pledges were made by 48 Member States, the European Commission, the Central Emergency Response Fund and four NGO/humanitarian organizations. The top ten countries pledging included: United Kingdom, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, European Commission, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, United States, Japan, Germany, Sweden, and Canada.

As of April, the Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan is 14 percent funded, with $ 296.5 million received out of $2.1 billion requested to assist 12 million people with life-saving assistance. Top donors include United States, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Japan, United Kingdom, the European Commission, Germany, and Canada. Contributions to humanitarian funding outside the Response Plan is $52.9 million.

Highlights of UNFPA Response

• Two hundred and forty reproductive health kits were distributed to meet the urgent needs of nearly 64,000 pregnant women in remote and conflict stricken governorates of Al Bayda, Al-Jawf, Marib and Sa’ada.
• Fifteen thousand dignity kits were distributed to displaced women and girls in Al Hudaydah, Al Mahwit, Amran, Amanat Al Asimah, Sana’a and Taizz, with 32 gender-based violence awareness sessions conducted.
• A total of 1,086 multi-sectoral services were provided for gender-based violence survivors in April with highest being for psychosocial support services (610) followed by legal support (194) and health services (150).
• Emergency obstetric care equipment worth $905,000 was installed and hospital staff trained in two hospitals in Hadramaut Governorate, provided with the support of KfW funds.
• Contraceptives held up in Al Hudaydah port for over six months, were released upon an agreement between the Ministry of Public Health and Planning and National Security Authorities. These contraceptives would provide 257,520 direct couple years of protection.
• Review and validation of the draft National Reproductive Maternal and Newborn Health Strategy 2017-2021 was held in April 2017. The strategy integrates Minimum Initial Service Package for Reproductive Health in Emergencies with interventions for comprehensive reproductive, maternal, newborn and adolescent health. The strategy will now be presented to the Minister of Public Health and Population for final endorsement and rolled-out to guide national efforts towards reducing maternal and new-born mortality and morbidity in Yemen.
• Population projection for 2017 disaggregated by age and sex at governorate level was provided to UNOCHA to support planning of humanitarian interventions. The projections are based on the latest census data and rates of fertility and mortality. An increase in the population size from 26.8 million to 28 million was observed.