Photo by Mercy Corps: A cash transfer program participant in Al-Joma’a Hawla shop Bani Sa’ad district, Al-Mahwit Governorate.

Phase 2: Emergency Response for IDPs and Conflict-Affected Communities in AID-OFDA-G-16-00020 Quarterly Report: July 1, 2017 – September 30, 2017 Country Contact: Headquarters Contact: Project Summary: Award Number AID-OFDA-G-16-00020 Start Date: March 24, 2016 End Date: September 23, 2017 Report Date: October 30, 2017 Total Award: $5,000,000

Quarterly Situation and Program Overview: The security situation has not improved in Yemen during the period under review. The country continued to witness airstrikes and ground fighting, which posed challenges to implementation.

The cholera outbreak across the country, coupled with severe food insecurity and malnutrition, continued to be a pressing issue for the humanitarian community. Additionally, the two years of conflict, compounded by an economic decline, have devastated livelihoods, depleted safety nets, and weakened social service delivery, all of which affected people’s ability to access services. In Sana’a, airstrikes continued periodically during the reporting period, along with continued ground fighting and shelling.

In Taiz, the security situation has not improved. Ground fighting between different frontlines continued, though there was no major advance by either side. Access in and out of the enclave remains a challenge, with many areas cordoned off. Additionally, securing travel permits to move in and out of the enclave remains an on-going challenge.

Although the political situation in the South remain volatile, was relatively quiet during the last quarter. Nonetheless, a few incidents demonstrated a familiar pattern: armed crime, unexplained violent incidents apparently resulting from intra-Aden tensions, and armed clashes between security forces and others. In the neighboring governorates, the Al-Queda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) militants continued their campaign against the security belt forces, particularly in Abyan governorate. The group has also targeted UAE-backed security forces across the south in the past month. Further military reinforcements have been deployed to the governorate, but so far this has failed to curtail AQAP’s activities. In response, the US-led counter-terrorism strikes increased in Abyan.

The reopening of parliament in Aden was the latest move made by President Hadi as they strive for influence in the city and across the south. However, his firing of several governors, including the Governor of Aden, has back-fired resulting in the formation of the Southern Transitional Political Council (SPTC). Several rallies were staged in Aden, led by the SPTC. Since then, the Hadi administration has been engaged in a power struggle with the SPTC as they attempt to build support bases in the city and across the south. In addition, there is a divide between UAE-backed groups and forces loyal to President Hadi. A host of other local, political, economic, military, sectarian, and criminal loyalties also divide actors in Aden and across the broader south. This makes the situation in Aden liable to destabilization with political dynamics causing instability and a range of semi-autonomous armed groups with differing and shifting loyalties.

On September 25, 2017, another batch of Russian-printed Riyals was flown into Aden. The money is expected to be used to pay public-sector salaries. The Central Bank in Aden also announced that it is connected to SWIFT, the global financial communication network. However, the bank has still a long way to go before it can provide the essential functions of a central bank. Despite these latest positive developments and the repeatedly promises to deliver long-awaited salaries, the government has largely failed to deliver.

In Sana’a and , programming centered on complementary WASH interventions, such the cash transfer program which has channeled USD $300,000 through money transfer agents to the most vulnerable households in Bani Sa’ad district of Al-Mahwit governorate. Activities were determined in close consultation with local authorities, community committees, and supported by Mercy Corps’ Community Mobilizer and field monitoring staff. Where no such committees existed, Mercy Corps established them, ensuring that they were inclusive of both men and women. Mercy Corps maintained positive feedback and acceptance through this approach, as members felt a sense of ownership over the projects being implemented in their areas. Committees also helped to monitor the process of disbursement of the cash assistance and the post distribution monitoring surveys.

Activities in the South this reporting period were focused on completing the livelihood and new livelihood activities with disbursement of grants to beneficiaries completed. Monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) activities including post distribution monitoring (PDM) and participatory impact assessment (PIA, end line survey, data analysis), were conducted. Beneficiary satisfaction surveys for WASH projects were also conducted to determine the satisfaction level of the target MERCY CORPS AID-OFDA-G-16-00020: Yemen Quarterly Report #6 July-September Page 2 communities on the recently completed WASH projects. As a result, two WASH community projects were re-assessed and fixed to address the beneficiary concerns over the project.

Sector 1: Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Objective 1: IDPs, returnees, and other conflict-affected populations have improved access to safe water and appropriate sanitation WASH Sector Major Activities: Solid Waste Management Activities & Environment Health Program (cleaning campaigns), Hygiene Promotion, Sanitation Infrastructure (rehabilitation), Water Supply Infrastructure (rehabilitation)

Sub-Sector 1.1: Environmental Health Indicator 1.1.1 Number of people benefiting from solid waste management, drainage and/or vector control activities (estimated) Reporting # and % Cumulative Target % IDPs Quarter Total Period Male/Female Total 56,364 male (52%), 8,686 IDPs 105,000 July- Sept 52,119 female 108,483 108,483 (8%) (48%) Indicator 1.1.2 Number of communities targeted by the environmental health program Reporting Cumulative Target Location Est. Population Quarter Total Period Total Al Qahera 15 July-Sept Salah 53,800 15 15 Al Mudhaffar Indicator 1.1.3 Number of community cleanup/debris removal activities conducted Reporting Cumulative Target Location Month Quarter Total Period Total Al Qahera 15 July-Sept Salah Aug 15 15 Al Mudhaffar Indicator 1.1.4 Metric tons of solid waste and debris removed Reporting Cumulative Target Location Quarter Total Period Total TBD 0 N/A 0 0

Additional comments: In Taiz, coordination meetings were held with governmental ministries representing different sectors inside the enclave. These meetings Individuals who benefited from were conducted to facilitate the implementation garbage containers of program activities. One of the challenges Mercy Corps faced during the last quarter was Male implementing solid waste removal (see Quarter 48% 52% 5 report). This resulted in the Mercy Corps Female program manager and Taiz Cleaning and Improving Funds (TCIF) representatives working together to come up with a solution to Table 1 showing the gender breakdown of individuals utilising garbage containers to dispose of solid who benefitted from the garbage distribution campaign. waste. Mercy Corps was informed by TCIF that ICRC would be implementing the cleaning MERCY CORPS AID-OFDA-G-16-00020: Yemen Quarterly Report #6 July-September Page 3 campaign for the whole city for the long-term. To avoid duplication of effort inside the enclave and to meet the primary needs of the communities, Mercy Corps conducted an assessment in August to identify and select 19 areas, consisting of 40 locations. The procurement process started by tendering and selecting the supplier. Garbage container distribution took place in mid-September after ensuring the quality and quantity by TCIF. Garbage container distribution lasted for three days and was witnessed by the TCIF manager who participated in supervising the distribution of 65 garbage containers in 40 specific locations. The authority and the community were impressed in the fast response provided, and 108,483 individuals (56,364 males and 52,119 females) benefited from the garbage containers distribution.

Garbage containers distribution details # of # of # of Number of # of # of Individual Areas location Blocks containers H.H Male Female Total

19 40 95 65 17,527 56,364 52,119 108,483

Table 2: showing details of the garbage container distribution in Taiz

Environmental Health Campaigns: Environmental kit distribution took place in August, with the distribution of 15 environmental health kits for 15 community committees. Each community committee received an environmental kit, which consists of the following items and quantities:

Item Units Trash bags 400 Rakes 6 Grape hoe 4 Shovel 6 Railroad pick 4 Wheelbarrow 3 Glove 50 Pack masks 40 Broom (with sticks) 20 Street broom (without sticks) 40 Safety boots 20 First aid box 1

A project/community agreement was signed with the 15 community committees, identifying and selecting 225 volunteers from 15 communities at three districts (210 will be cleaning and 15 will be supervising).

Eight community committees in Al Mudhaffar (five in Al Qahera, and two in Salah district) participated in launching and implementing environmental health cleaning campaigns in September. The campaign started in each community with the distribution of environmental health kits by supervisors per location. Prior to the cleaning campaign, the Mercy Corps team coordinated with TCIF and ICRC for the removal of garbage from collection points in the 15 locations at the end of each day.

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Community participation was very effective during the implementation of the campaign. It was observed that the community – including men, women, children and shop owners – participated by renting a small truck to remove garbage at the collection points. A total of 53,800 beneficiaries benefitted from the environmental health campaigns in the 15 locations.

Outside the enclave, the solid waste removal activity was cancelled due to constraints imposed by the IDPs executive unit.

Sub-Sector 1.2: Hygiene Promotion Indicator 1.2.1 Number of people receiving direct hygiene promotion (excluding mass media campaigns and without double-counting) Area Target Reporting Period # and % Male/Female % IDPs Cumulative Total Reached Sana’a 20,337 0 Male 30 (19%) 0.7% (41) 24,988 Female 130 (81%) Taiz 40,800 0 Male 3,245 (42%) 8% (628) 127,416 Female 4,450 (58%) Lahj 4,392 0 Male 0 (0%), 0% (0) 12,927 Female 0 (0%) Abyan 16,131 0 Male 0 (0%), 0% (0) 19,639 Female 0 (0%) Al Dhale'e 11,746 0 Male 0 (0%), 0% (0) 5,634 Female 0 (0%) Hadramaut 8,076 0 Male 0 (0%) 0% (0) 8,932 Female 0 (0%) Total 40,345 0 Male 0 (0%) 0% (0) 199,536 Female 0 (0%) Indicator 1.2.2 Number of respondents who know 3 of 5 critical times to wash hands Target Reporting Period # and % Male/Female % IDPs Quarter Total Reached 75% 558 (88%) - Male 0 (0%) 0% (0) 558 (88%) South Female 0 (0%)

Additional comments: All activities in Sana’a, Taiz and the southern governorates were completed in the last reporting period.

Sub-Sector 1.3: Sanitation Infrastructure Indicator 1.3.1 Number of people directly benefitting from the sanitation infrastructure program Reporting Period # and % Target Type Cumulative Total Reached Male/Female

Male 1,600 (51%) Al Dhale’e – 603 3,175 Rehabilitation 3,175 Female 1,575 (49%)

Additional comments: In Al Dhale’e Governorate, as part of the Mercy Corps complaint mechanism, a beneficiary satisfaction survey was conducted for all completed projects. In Al Dhale’e, Mercy Corps received a complaint from the community on the rehabilitation of sanitation system in Al Arshy village. Water from the sewage system was spilling out on one of the main streets. After conducting a MERCY CORPS AID-OFDA-G-16-00020: Yemen Quarterly Report #6 July-September Page 5 technical assessment by Mercy Corps’ Senior Field Engineer, it was discovered that the sewage water from the sanitation network was overflowing due the small size of the pipes. Mercy Corps immediately addressed the problem by contracting a contractor to rehabilitate the manholes and increase the volume of the old sewage pipes by replacing the pipes and rehabilitating the manholes. (See Annex 2 for a detailed description of the completed projects). After the contractor completed the project, Mercy Corps conducted the beneficiary satisfaction survey, with the results showing that all respondents were satisfied with the output and the quality of the project.

Sub-Sector 1.4: Water Supply Infrastructure Indicator 1.4.1 Number of people directly benefiting from the water supply infrastructure program Reporting Target* # and % Male/Female % IDPs Cumulative Total Period Lahj 3,612 36,221** Male 18,252 (51%) 0 (0%) 41,055 Female 17,969 (49%) Abyan 3,812 0 0 0 2,637 Al Dhale’e 831 0 0 0 1,600 Hadramaut 0 0 0 3,216 3,216 TOTAL 36,221 Male 18,252 (51%) 0 (0%) 48,508 11,471 Female 17,969 (49%) Indicator 1.4.2 Water supplied per beneficiary in liters per person per day (through water trucking) Reporting Target # of households % IDPs Cumulative Total Period 2.75 Liters per N/A person/per day Indicator 1.4.3 Number of water points developed, repaired, or rehabilitated Reporting Target* Location Type Cumulative Total Period Lahj 2 2 Lahj Rehabilitation 6 Abyan 3 0 N/A N/A 4 Al-Dhale’e 1 0 N/A N/A 1 Hadramaut 27 0 N/A N/A 27 TOTAL 33 2 38 Indicator 1.4.4 Percentage of test results with FRC >0.2 mg/L Reporting Target Location Date tested Cumulative Total Period 75% 4 Al Mudhaffar district, 95.6% Taiz * Target is based on the selected projects submitted to OFDA for approval. ** Covering two villages.

Additional comments: Water supply infrastructure: WASH Projects: As a final step of finalizing the complementary work in four community projects outside the Taiz enclave, solar water pumps were installed in Al Qurf and Al Dominia villages, Al Ta’iziyah district. The installation happened in the presence of the community committee and the leaders of the community expressed their satisfaction as such projects will reduce the suffering of the people in the surrounding areas. In addition, Mercy Corps teams have conducted monitoring visits during the installation of solar water pumps in each location and ensured that MERCY CORPS AID-OFDA-G-16-00020: Yemen Quarterly Report #6 July-September Page 6 the installations are of sufficient quality. The installation of solar panels in Al Molayeh project area, Al Ta’iziyah district, was done during the last quarter. Monitoring and supervisory visits were conducted by the Mercy Corps team in each location to ensure the quality of work.

Maintenance Training: Maintenance training continued in July for the final group over two days. Eight members of the community committee and laborers selected from Aldahee area participated in the maintenance training which was conducted to maintain the project and to ensure its sustainability. The training sessions were led by the engineers and covered the importance of maintenance, as well as the handling skills of machines in order to increase the participants’ knowledge of maintenance tools.

Four water tests were conducted for four WASH community projects inside the enclave. As a result, three communities have shown that water is available in each site, and it is acceptable for drinking and domestic use, while one has tested to be accepted for domestic use only (i.e. washing clothes or cleaning, but not for cooking or drinking).

Non-WASH Projects: In the reporting period, the final 25% of road paving in Tabbat Alkhawa’a village in Aldahe area has been accomplished. The construction of a protection wall on the side of the road in Tabbat Alkhawa’a was also completed during this period. The total number of beneficiaries was 1,260 (767 males, 493 females).

Lahj Governorate: Two water infrastructure rehabilitation projects were completed in the Tuban and Al Hawtah districts of Lahj. These projects included replacing one water tank with the addition of eight taps, the installation of drinking pools for livestock, and rehabilitation of water points by replacing water pipes (see sector 2.3 below for more details on CfW beneficiaries and Annex I for a detailed description of the completed projects).

Abyan Governorate: After conducting the quality assurance monitoring visit by Mercy Corps’ Senior Field Engineer in Al Nash village, it was decided with the community and the local water corporation to cancel the rehabilitation of water infrastructure. The community and the Local Water and Sanitation Corporation (LWSC) in Abyan has changed the agreed project design. After re-conducting the technical assessment on the new project design, it was found out that it will not directly benefit the Al Nash village but the whole district of Zingibar and therefore, will be at a higher cost as it is a large-scale project. Another finding was that the former Mercy Corps’ Field Engineer did not conduct a thorough technical assessment during the project set-up phase. (Please see attached incident reports in Annex II and the challenges section). Mercy Corps tried to find another alternative project in Al Nash village but all the other projects were large scale projects entailing high budget, contractor work, and longer project duration. The materials of the project were donated to the LWSC Abyan and Mercy Corps replaced this project with a WASH project in Lahj governorate.

Maintenance Training: Maintenance trainings were given to 22 participants from community committees, water committees and representatives of LWSC in Abyan and Lahj governorates. The training was facilitated by Mercy Corps’ staff as part of its sustainability plan. The training covered topics such as how to maintain minor issues with the water system and how to handle and fix problems in the system. Mercy Corps also donated tool kits such as tool box, ruler, plumber, hammer, and cutter for each community.

Sector 2: Economic Recovery and Market Systems

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Objective 2: Communities (including households, businesses, etc.) have recovered from the crisis quickly and sustainably. ERMS Sector Major Activities: Livelihood Restoration (start-up support), New Livelihood Development (MSEs and internships), Temporary Labor (cash-for-work)

Sub-Sector 2.1: Livelihood Restoration Indicator 2.1.1 Number of people assisted through livelihood restoration activities, disaggregated by sex # and % Target Reporting Period % IDPs* Cumulative Total Male/Female Male 14 (100%), Lahj 20 14 0 20 Female 0 (0%). Male 12 (86%), Abyan 20 14 0 20 Female 2 (14%). Male 8 (80%), Al Dhale’e 20 10 0 20 Female 2 (20%). Male 34 (89%), Total 60 38 0 60 Female 4 (11%) Indicator 2.1.2 Percentage of beneficiaries reporting their livelihoods restored within three to six months after receiving support** Target Reporting Period %Male/Female % IDPs Cumulative Total 50% 0 0 0 0 Indicator 2.1.3 Total USD amount channeled into the program area through sub-sector activities Location Target Reporting Period Cumulative Total Lahj 60,580 21,700 45,150 Abyan 60,580 14,075 48,244 Al Dhale’e 60,590 15,810 45,899 Total 181,750 51,585 139,293 * There were no IDPs among the beneficiaries who received grants this reporting period. ** Will be reported in the final report.

Additional comments: In Lahj, Abyan and Al Dhale’e Governorates, 53 grantees received their full installments during the reporting period. Each grantee met the agreed outputs/deliverables stated in their proposal before receiving the installments. Program team conducted monitoring visits to assess their progress against their milestones as stated in their grant agreement. Out of the 60 grantees, seven grantees were not able to complete the program because they did not meet their expected outputs and milestone deadlines. Most of them also did not qualify the selection criteria. (Please see attached incident reports in Annex II and the challenge section below.)

Table 3: Total amount of grants and number of grantees per governorate. Governorate District First # of Second # of Third # of Total Install- Grante Installment Grantees Installment Grantees Grants ment ($) es ($) ($) ($) Lahj Tuban 17,600 20 15,250 18 12,150 14 45,000 Abyan Khanfir 21,625 20 20,025 20 6,400 10 48,050 and Zingibar Al Dhale’e Al 14,580 20 16,050 19 15,060 18 45,690 Dhale’e TOTAL 53,805 60 51,325 57 33,610 42 138,740*

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*Amount of grants given for all grantees excluding transfer fees.

Sub-Sector 2.2: New Livelihoods Development Indicator 2.2.1 Number of people assisted through new livelihoods development activities, disaggregated by sex Reporting Period # and % Target % IDPs Cumulative Total Reached Male/Female Lahj 25 0 0 0 25 Abyan 25 0 0 0 25 Al Dhale’e 25 0 0 0 25 Total 75 0 0 0 75 Indicator 2.2.2 Number of new MSEs started Reporting Period %Male/Female Target % IDPs Cumulative Total Reached Owned Lahj 5 Male 1 (20%), 5 5 40% (2) Female 4 (80%) Abyan 5 Male 1 (20%), 5 5 0 Female 4 (80%) Al Dhale’e 5 Male 2 (40%), 5 5 0 Female 3 (60%) Total 20 Male 4 (27%), 15 15 13% (2) Female 11 (73%) Indicator 2.2.3 Percentage of people, disaggregated by sex, continuing in their new livelihoods by program completion* Reporting Period Target % Male/Female % IDPs Cumulative Total Reached 50% 0 0 0 0 Indicator 2.2.4 Total USD amount channeled into the program area through sub-sector activities Reporting Period Target Location Cumulative Total Reached $120,375 $26,711.00 Abyan, Al Dhale’e and Lahj $111,113.60** Indicator 2.2.5 Number of interns who remain in job after program ends Reporting Period # and % Target % IDPs Cumulative Total Reached Male/Female Lahj 4 Male 3 (38%), 8 13% (1) 8 Female 5 (62%) Abyan 3 Male 4 (57%), 7 0 7 Female 3 (43%) Al Dhale’e 3 Male 6 (67%), 9 0 9 Female 3 (33%) Total 10 Male 13 (54%), 24 4% (1) 24 Female 11 (46%) *Will be reported at the final report. **Includes all expenses for this sector not just the amount of grants.

Additional comments: In Lahj, Abyan and Al Dhale’e Governorates, the apprenticeship/internship program was completed and carried out for 60 days. A total of 50 apprentices out of the 75 trainees from the vocational training (17 Lahj, 16 Abyan and 17 Al Dhale’e) were selected based on a set of criteria:

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100% attendance and excellent performance during the vocational training, and recommendation from the trainers. The apprenticeship program aimed to bolster the experience of trainees by placing them in a real world setting as they receive on-the-job support to further sharpen their skills to be able to increase their income after the program ends.

A Participatory Impact Assessment (PIA) was conducted on 60% of the total beneficiaries (interns) to examine whether the beneficiaries would remain in their jobs after they have completed their apprenticeship. Out of the 50 apprentices, 24 beneficiaries were able to increase their income through continuing working in the same business establishments where they had their apprenticeship, working with other shops, or working from their homes using the tools that they received during the vocational training. The PIA report will be submitted with the final report.

Out of the 50 trainees, 15 grantees were selected for the grant distribution program (5 in Lahj, 5 in Abyan and 5 in Al Dhale’e). All of the 15 grantees have received their full installments amounting to USD $26,711. The program team conducted monitoring visits with each grantee to ensure that they met their outputs based on their proposal and agreed milestone. A report was submitted to the MEL team to ensure whether the milestones as indicated in their proposal have been achieved or not.

All 15 grantees have started their new business: seven females opened sewing shops; four females opened hairdressing shops; two males opened mobile maintenance shops; one male opened an auto mechanic shop and one male opened refrigerator and cooling maintenance shop. They are earning between YER 10,000 to 100,000 per month (approximately USD $30-$270).

Table 4: Number of grantees and amount received in USD per governorate. Governorate District # of Grantees First installment Second installment Total Abyan Zingibar 5 (Male 1 , Female 4 ) $4,211 $4,940 $9,151 Al Dhale’e Al Dhale’e 5 (Male 2 , Female 3 ) $4,490 $4,864 $9,354 Lahj Tuban 5 (Male 1 , Female 4 ) $3,704 $4,502 $8,206 Total 15 $12,405 $14,306 $26,711

Sub-Sector 2.3: Temporary Employment Indicator 2.2.1 Number of people employed through CFW activities, disaggregated by sex Area Target Reporting Period # and % Male/Female % IDPs Cumulative Reached Total Taiz 191 (142 2 2 male (100%), 0 50% 191 unskilled females (0%) and 49 skilled) Sana’a 236 (193 0 0 0 207 unskilled and 43 skilled) Al Mahwit 34 (32 0 0 0 34 unskilled and 2 skilled) Lahj 33* Male 31 (94%), 3% (1) 227 540 (460 Female 2 (6%) Al Dhale’e unskilled 0 0 0 100

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Hadramaut and 90 0 0 0 95 skilled) Abyan 0 0 0 188 Total 661 35 Male 31 (94%), 3% (1) 1042 Female 2 (6%) Indicator 2.2.2 Average total USD amount per person earned through CFW activities Target Reporting Period Location Cumulative Total Reached $77 (Estimated amount Taiz: Al Mudhaffar, Al that each participation will Ta’iziyah. earn through CFW) Saber Al Mawadem $80 (Estimated amount 170.26 Lahj 98.71 that each participation will 0 Al Dhale’e 105.5 earn through CFW) 0 Hadramaut 186.3 0 Abyan 105 TOTAL 170.26 Abyan, Al Dhale’e, 115.27 Hadramaut and Lahj Indicator 2.2.3 Total USD amount channeled into the program area through sub-sector activities Target (USD)* Reporting Period Location Cumulative Total Reached (USD) (USD) $62,775 3,860.00 Taiz: Al Mudhaffar, 28,360.00 Al Ta’iziyah, Saber Al Mawadem 13,759.38 Lahj 41,444.29 0 Al Dhale’e 14,284.08 $78,088.96 0 Abyan 34,973.95 0 Hadramaut 32,830.24 TOTAL 17,619.38 151,892.56 * Five skilled laborers were not included because they were reported in the last report. These skilled laborers were re-hired for another project because of the lack of skilled laborers in the area.

Additional comments: In Taiz, the cash for work (CFW) Post Distribution Monitoring (PDM) was conducted for 20 households, which were randomly selected in inside and outside Taiz city. Nine households were interviewed in Al Ta'iziyah and Saber Al Mawadem district outside Taiz city, while 11 were interviewed in Al Mudhaffar district inside Taiz city. As the graphic below shows, most respondents’ immediate needs were spent for food, cooking supplies and repaying debts. Their lowest expenditures were for health, savings, shelter materials, clothing for family, hygiene items, education, communication, small household items, livelihoods materials, qat and others such as paying for monthly rental house.

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Household expenditures among CFW participants by category

85% 75% 65%

30% 30% 20% 20% 15% 15% 10% 10% 10% 1% 5% 1%

Unconditional CASH Transfer (UCT): Two phases of UCT was done during the quarter. The first round of YER 36,000,000 (approximately USD $143,512) of cash assistance were transferred to 960 households (736 male headed households and 224 female headed households) on August 7. Each household received YER 37,500 (approximately USD 150). The distribution has been done through Al Kurimi money transfer agents in various branches.

The second round of cash assistance was done on September 16th for the same beneficiaries (960 households). Each household received YER 37,500 (approximately USD $150). According to the Al Kurimi report, as of September 28, 949 households received their transfer, with the remaining 11 households are still going through the cash transfer process.

The biggest challenge that the activity has faced was the inability to conduct PDMs for phase one and two of the cash transfer as the IDP Executive Unit is still cautious about granting permission to collect information that they consider irrelevant and unnecessary.

In Lahj and Al Dhale’e Governorates, three WASH community projects and one non-WASH project were completed during this period. These projects were rehabilitation of water networks by replacing water pipes, developing new water points, rehabilitating old water points, connecting water sources, adding water tank, rehabilitation of sanitation system and building gabions (Please see Annex 1 - Project Description). For sustainability of WASH community projects, Mercy Corps donated maintenance tools and created a new water committee to be responsible for the maintenance at the end of the completion of each project. A maintenance training was also conducted for community committees, water committees, and LWSC staff in the target areas. The PDM for CfW was conducted and data analysis is still on-going. The result of PDM will be reported in the final report.

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Table 5: Number of indirect beneficiaries of the completed projects per governorate.

Governorate Total # of # of % of % of % % of # Individuals Male Female Male Female IDPs Returnees HHs Lahj 36,221 18,252 17,969 51% 49% 0% 0% 5,176

TOTAL 36,221 18,252 17,969 51% 49% 0% 0% 5,176

A total of 276 individuals were given temporary labor for these projects using the cash for work modality.

Table 6: Number of CfW direct beneficiaries per governorate for WASH community projects. TOTAL TOTAL AMOUNT # # TOTAL # OF AVERAGE # OF CHANNELED TO GOVERNO DISTRICT PROJECT NAME UNSKILLED SKILLED #MALE #FEMALES CFW DIRECT EARNED/ RATE DAYS THE PROGRAM LABORS LABORS BENEFICIARIES PERSON (USD) (USD) Construct of Lahj Tuban Water Point 12 15 3 16 2 18 5,129.68 133.89 Lahj Al Rehabilita- Hawtah tion of the 16 14 6 20 0 20 8,629.70 203 Water Network TOTAL 29 9 36 2 38 13,759.38 170.26

In Lahj Governorate, two water infrastructure rehabilitation projects were completed in Al Hawtah and Tuban districts. The two projects aimed to rehabilitate the water network of Al Hawtah district and construct new water taps including replacing the destroyed water tank in Tuban district. A total of 38 (36 males and 2 females) CfW labourers participated on these two projects (nine skilled and 29 unskilled).

Sector 3: Protection Objective 3: Populations in conflict-affected areas, particularly children, have demonstrated increased awareness of the risks of Explosive Remnants of War (ERW).

Protection Sector Major Activities: Mine Risk Educations (MRE) training, MRE outreach, marking hazardous areas.

Sub-Sector 3.1: Protection Coordination, Advocacy, and Information Indicator 3.1.1 Number of people trained in protection (Mine and ERW Risk Education), by sex Reporting # and % Male/Female % IDPs Cumulative Target Period Total Reached 70 N/A 0 0 126 Indicator 3.1.2 Number of individuals reached through targeted Mine and ERW Risk Education messaging Target Reporting # and % Male/Female % IDPs Cumulative Period Total Reached

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83,540 0 Male 1,421 (60%) 12 (1%) Total: Female 937 (40%) 98,800

Indicator 3.1.3 Percentage of beneficiaries demonstrating an increased understanding of risks following MRE when comparing pre- and post-training results Target Reporting % Increase % IDPs Cumulative Period Male/Female Total Reached 67% 0 28% increase male 0 28% 28% increase female Indicator 3.1.4 Number of suspected hazardous areas (SHA) marked Target Reporting Location Cumulative Total Period Reached 60 N/A 0 90

Additional comments: All the activities in the southern governorates were completed during the last reporting period. Please see Annex IV – MRE Endline Survey Report for more information.

Sector 4: Logistics Support and Relief Commodities Objective 4: IDPs, returnees, and vulnerable conflict-effected populations have accessed financial resources to meet life-saving needs, including essential household items and services. LSRC Sector Major Activities: Unconditional cash distribution

Sub-Sector 4.1: Non-food Items Indicator 4.1.1 Total USD amount channeled into the program area through sub-sector activities Reporting Cumulative Target Period Location % IDPs Quarter Total Total Reached Bani Ali –Al- $300,000 $300,000 Al-Mahwit $300,000 0% Mahwit Taiz $144,000 Al Ta'iziyah 0% $144,000 $144,000 Indicator 4.1.2 Number of households receiving unconditional cash Reporting %Male/Female Cumulative Target % IDPs Quarter Total Period Headed Total 85% male, 15% Al Mahwit 1,000 10% 1,000 1,000 female 736 male (77%), Taiz 960 25% 960 960 224 female (23%) Indicator 4.1.3 Total number and per item USD value of cash/vouchers distributed for NFIs, by type Reporting Per item/USD Cumulative Target Period # of Location Quarter Total value Total vouchers TBD

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Additional comments: As part of program integration in Mercy Corps, Al Mahwit Governorate was selected for unconditional cash and food basket distributions. The Yemen emergency food assistance (YEFA) program conducted the baseline assessment and the selection criteria for CTP program participants included: conflict affected, residents of target areas, lack sufficient source of income, large household size, female/child/elderly-headed households, number of PLW in the family, number of CU5 in the family, number of chronically ill/ disabled members in the family

Lists of program participants with SADD information was submitted to Mercy Corps by the community committees. The lists of program participants were then verified by Mercy Corps field teams and endorsed by the local councils.

In addition to the cash assistance used for non-food commodities, each household received food baskets to cover their basic food needs under Mercy Corps’ complementary programing. The FFP-funded Yemen Emergency Food Assistance (YEFA) program conducted the baseline assessment and the main findings showed 90% of the population in Bani Ali sub-district have no constant income generating livelihood opportunities. Households of the area depend on growing limited crops to maintain their food consumption, yet the agricultural land in the sub-district were hugely affected by rainfall and floods during the rainy season. Verification for the remaining 10% of the beneficiaries was done. Sensitization meetings were conducted with local authorities and established Community Committees where they were introduced to the objective of the unconditional cash transfer and the terms of spending the cash.

Mercy Corps received a list of 1,000 households with all meetings’ minutes. Beneficiaries’ IDs were submitted to Mercy Corps through the community facilitator of Bani Ali Sub- district. Mercy Corps created 251 Mercy Corps IDs for those who do not have any documents to be able to get their cash from FSP as this will be done through direct transfer by Al Kurimi Company (FSP). This transfer methodology gives beneficiaries more dignity by having the freedom to purchase what they think to be necessary for them.

Additionally, Mercy Corps Mobiliser conducted seven sensitization meetings in the targeted villages for the final selected beneficiaries where they learned about the main the objective of the cash transfer program, how beneficiaries should spend it, a list of restricted items that beneficiaries are not allowed to purchase, and the different exchange rates between US dollars and Yemeni Rials. This process was done during the first and second cycles of the cash distributions where USD $300,000 was channeled to 1,000 households. Each transfer amounted to USD $150 per household.

The established community committees monitored the spending of beneficiary household in their communities. In addition to that, Mercy Corps field monitors conducted regular follow up visits with community committees to ensure that households didn’t purchase restricted items. When the cash was transferred to beneficiaries through money transfer agents, Mercy Corps field monitors also were present. The field monitors checked all receipts against the beneficiary lists as another level of verification. The field monitors also conducted 300 field observation forms for 30% of the program participants during the first and second rounds of the cash assistance distribution. Findings from the field monitoring observations showed that generally there were no complaints during the disbursement of the cash except for sporadic incidences which were treated on a case- by-case basis.

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# Of Females

# of Males

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160

Second Round First Round

Fig1. Gender variation of Program participants interviewed via the observation visits of field monitoring at the time of distributions

Field teams reported that all female household program participants received the cash assistance by themselves at the three money transfer agents near the targeted communities of Bani Ali sub- district. A total of 10% of the program participants delegated a family member to receive the cash assistance by an official documentation that included their original script of the identity cards. Reasons given for the delegation included physical disabilities, chronic diseases, and distance. As a lesson learnt for future programing, people with physical disabilities and chronic diseases should have been approached individually as the money transfer agents do not have PWD- friendly spaces.

Chronic disease prevented them from attending Physical disability The distrbution point is far from the benefeciaries other reasons

Fig2. Reasons that 10% of the program participants delegated a family member to receive the cash assistance.

To measure the effectiveness of the cash assistance provided to one of the areas most affected by the war, Mercy Corps conducted two rounds of post-distribution monitoring (PDM) in August and September 2017. Mercy Corps targeted 1,000 households representing 2,693 males and

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2,773 females in Bani Ali sub-district, Bani Saad, Al Mahweet Governorate. About 15% of the households in the sub-district are female headed.

The sampling frame of the PDMs came from 1,000 households in the targeted sub-district. Two rounds of cash distribution was conducted over a period of 14 days. A random frame was assigned to select 7% of the program’s participants (who represented 523 individuals (family members) who were interviewed in the first round of PDM. The sample was conducted randomly to capture the diverse demographic and socio-economic statuses of the survey respondents to serve the purpose of describing the key socio-economic characteristics that may have direct or indirect implications on the impact of the program interventions.

During the first PDM, the number of male and female respondents for the survey was equal (33 males and 33 females). However, the analysis of respondent’s relationship to the head of the household showed that 74% were male and 28% were female. While in the second distribution, the 38% of respondents were female and 62% respondents were male. Fewer interviews with females took place as they were not available at the time of the second PDM. Women were busy in goat and livestock rearing which they bought by the cash assistance distribution.

Fig 3. Gender of respondents interviewed during the PDMs post to the first and second distributions of cash assistance in Bani Ali Sub districts.

An average household size in Bani Ali sub-district is eight (8), and the majority size of households is between six (6) to nine (9).

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Fig3. Overview of household size of program participants in Bani Ali Sub districts.

Among program participants, 32% are over the age of 50, 33% are between 35 to 49, 25.7% are between 25 to 34 and 9% are between 18 to 24 years of age.

For the 1,000 household beneficiaries, the analysis of household status shows that 7% are internally displaced persons, 3% are returnees, and 90% are of host communities. However, as Bani Ali is one of the most affected areas by the war and conflict, people in this sub-distract are not able to relocate due to financial and logistic restrictions.

Fig 4. A chart reflecting the household status of program participants in Bani Ali District Al-Mahwit governorate.

Relevance and effectiveness of cash assistance was assessed to measure the extent to which program participants were satisfied with the cash transfer assistance and the categories in which they spent the cash assistance. The participants were asked what they have done to cope with a lack of food or money during the last month.

Following the first round of cash distribution among 66 households, it was found that 14% reduced essential non-food expenditure (such as healthcare, education); 13% of household members who

MERCY CORPS AID-OFDA-G-16-00020: Yemen Quarterly Report #6 July-September Page 18 are 18 years and over are accepting high risk, dangerous, or exploitative work; and 11% bought food on credit and/or borrowed money to purchase.

Some patterns changed following the second round of cash distribution. It was found that only 5% of the households surveyed reduced essential non-food expenditure (such as healthcare, education). This indicates that the integrated response of both food and cash reinforced the resilience of the community.

Fig5. Coping strategy for households

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900000 24% Use of cash assistance 800000 700000 18% 16% 600000 500000 400000 10% 300000 6% 6% 5% 200000 3% 3% 3% 2% 1% 100000 1% 0% 0% 1% 0% 0

Fig6. A chart demonstrating the expenditure of the cash assistance on different needs after the first round of distribution.

Following the first round of cash assistance distribution, it was found that the three areas where beneficiaries spent the most were debt repayment (24%), health care (18%) and clothes (16%). The low expenditure on food items can be attributed to the integrated response of the Mercy Corps YEFA program.

Fig 7. A chart demonstrating the expenditure of the cash assistance on different needs after the second round of distribution.

As per the first round, the second round of cash assistance distribution resulted in debt repayment, health care and buying of clothes as the top three expenditures for many beneficiaries. A comparison on expenditure after both distribution is shown in Figure 7, putting in consideration MERCY CORPS AID-OFDA-G-16-00020: Yemen Quarterly Report #6 July-September Page 20 that program participants interviewed after both rounds are not the same individuals. The low expenditure of food items can again be attributed to the integrated response of the Mercy Corps food program, with 1,000 households receiving a food basket by the Mercy Corps food team.

Challenges:

In Sana’a and Al Mahwit, increased poverty index and unemployment rate in target areas has led to Mercy Corps’ inability to cover all those in need within the project. The need in the area is higher than the response. This has led to substantial community pressure on the field team from communities asking for expansion and extension of the project to cover new areas, especially in the WASH sector. In addition, community members from other areas are coming to the targeted projects sites asking for intervention in their areas even when they are not from the targeted villages.

The inflation of the Yemeni Rials against the USD represented a fluctuation of the amount of money that the beneficiaries received during the first and second distribution. Mercy Corps insisted that the money transfer agents should transfer the cash in USD. Yet during the post- distribution monitoring visits, field team reported different exchange rates are being used. The differences in exchange rates is either the beneficiaries are receiving different currencies by the Hawala shops or they are exchanging money with money changers.

In Taiz:  Some activities, such as like UCT PDMs, were difficult to conduct outside the enclave in Al Ta’iziyah district due to the access constraints imposed by the IDP Executive Unit. The IDP Executive Unit is conservative about the collection of information which they consider sensitive and even irrelevant. They hold the approval for the permit for this activity.  Some activities inside the enclave were suspended at the start of the reporting period as a result of some changes in the government structure. It has also been a challenge to identify the official responsible for the coordination prior to implementation.  It has been difficult to supervise and follow-up the campaigns by the team in one the location (Al-Akhowa Hotel) for two days as the security situation worsened due to the clashes that occurred between various groups within the resistance themselves.  The instability of the security situation inside the enclave resulted in a reduced number of field visits and delayed some program activities.

In the southern governorates, Mercy Corps faced a variety of challenges. Grant agreements with seven livelihood restoration grantees were terminated due to not following the conditions and criteria of the agreement. In particular, the program team found out that the members of the community committee of Sanah village have selected the grantees of livelihood restoration without following the criteria (including having business before the conflict, vulnerable people and conflict affected people, head of households and not direct relative of a member of the community committee). Also, community committees have manipulated the selection process by showing the MEL team ‘fake’ business establishments during the spot check monitoring of the selected beneficiaries and or showing businesses that were established after the war. Mercy Corps did not receive any complaints from the community during the selection process and the announcement of the beneficiaries. Complaints were received only after the grantees received their grant installments. Mercy Corps terminated the grant agreement with the seven grantees and disqualified members of the community committee who were involved in the selection process. The village sheik was also informed in a formal letter regarding the fraud incident. (Please see Annex 2 - Incident Report for more details).

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In Abyan, one WASH project was cancelled in Al Nash village due to the high cost of materials and the complexity of the proposed project. The former Field Engineer left Mercy Corps prior to the implementation did the initial technical assessment. Upon checking by the Senior Field Engineer, it was found out that the proposed intervention was not feasible given the large scale of rehabilitation works needed and that the target village of Al Nash will not directly benefit from the project. The program team tried to find another alternative project in Al Nash village but most of the proposals were for the household level (like repairing of household toilets) and would entail high costs of materials such as constructions and digging activities that cannot be considered as community projects. Mercy Corps will consider these proposals for another program. The program team decided to replace this project with another project in another location. Part of the materials that were purchased were donated to the Local Water and Sanitation Corporation in Abyan.

Lessons Learned:

1. Community involvement on developing selection criteria of vulnerability helped to mitigate conflict among the targeted population and gave the community the sense of ownership that led to peaceful change by engaging the community in all phases of the projects, and sensitized and mobilized the communities, which led to a decrease in conflict among the community members. 2. Implementing the Complaining and Feedback Mechanism, such as placing a complaint box to get feedback from the community members, is essential to improve the design of the program as well as to address effectively the complaints of the community. 3. During market and vendors’ assessment at the start of the program, money transfer agents should be assessed. When a shop is selected as a service provider, a legal contract with penalties should be signed by both parties. 4. After the negotiation regarding the implementation of the solid waste removal campaign, and after discussion with authorities rather than cancelling this activity, the adaptation was to meet the community’s needs through the purchase of garbage containers. This was done to avoid an overlap of solid waste removal that was started by ICRC inside the enclave. 5. At the first round of CASH transfer, it was planned to collect beneficiaries’ thumbprints while they are receiving their cash assistance. However, it was discovered during distribution that this method was not working at the point; it caused conflict among the beneficiaries. Mercy Corps decided to stop this process and coordinated for an alternative with Al Kurimi Company for beneficiaries to report receipt of cash assistance. This mechanism was applied for the second transfer as a lesson learned. 6. Having female staff do monitoring and spot checks at the household level was helpful since culturally men are not allowed to enter the home. 7. Quality assurance field visits conducted by the Senior Field Engineer mitigated the risk of low quality projects and increased the chance of sustainable and high quality projects. 8. Conducting the beneficiary satisfaction survey by MEL team and technical quality assurance monitoring by Senior Field Engineer prior completion of the program is essential to capture beneficiary complaints and to meet their expectations of the project. It also gives a chance for the program team to make necessary corrections when needed to ensure quality work/output.

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