The humanitarian situation in Yemen continues to deteriorate. Driven by food insecurity and a cholera outbreak caused directly by the conflict, the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance has increased by two million and now stands at 20.7 million. Some 9.8 million people are in acute need of assistance to save or sustain their lives while 10.8 million people need assistance to prevent them from slipping into acute need.

One hundred and twenty-four humanitarian organizations have reached 36 per cent of the 2017 humanitarian target, working in a coordinated manner across Yemen’s 22 governorates. The 2017 Humanitarian Response Plan has received 44 per cent funding against the 2.1 billion appeal.

The number of suspected cases of cholera continues to rise with 453,175 cases of suspected cholera/acute watery diarrhoea and 1,930 associated deaths, reported as of late July 2017. 

Highlights of UNFPA's Response

• Over 4,000 dignity kits containing information on cholera prevention information and materials were distributed in Sana'a Governorate including in areas with high numbers of suspected cholera cases.
• A total of 773 multi-sectoral services were provided for gender-based violence survivors in July with the highest being for psychosocial support services and health services.
• A total of 16,303 (men: 841, women: 8,709, boys: 1,789, girls: 2,134) benefited from mobile clinics' reproductive health services in the governorates of Aden, Al Bayda, Al Hudayda, Amanat Al Asimah, Amran, Hadramut, Ibb, Lahj, Sana'a and Taizz.
• More than 1,300 people were reached with awareness-raising sessions on gender-based violence in July, which included awareness raising on the role of women in the prevention of cholera.
• UNFPA supported the Central Statistics Organization in Yemen in launching a national framework for gender-related statistics as a first step towards improving data collection in the area of gender. The new framework will help build a reliable gender database, assess and analyze gender-related issues, design related evidence-based strategies, monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of policies, and track progress toward the nationally, regionally and internationally agreed Sustainable Development Goals.
• A consultation meeting on youth peace and security to roll out the UN Security Council Resolution 2250 in Yemen was held with over 50 participants. One of the key outcomes was to establish a Youth and Peacebuilding Inter-agency Working group. Among the main recommendations was to establish a youth, peace and security platform that allows youth to engage in open dialogues and helps create innovate peace initiatives.

Challenges

• The cholera outbreak is impacting the provision of already overstretched health services, including reproductive health services, which are being redirected to deal with the new and added burden of managing the epidemic.
• Recent insufficient fuel imports into Yemen are hampering the ability to respond to the worsening humanitarian crisis, particularly in the transportation of medicines and supplies.

Funding Status

• UNFPA’s response on gender-based violence received $1.8 million from the Kingdom of Sweden for 2017.