HUMANITARIAN UPDATE Noora is part of the more than 700 internally Issue 2 / February 2021 displaced families at a former school in Dar Saad in Aden. She is among those struggling to feed their children. Giles Clarke/OCHA. DONORS MUST ACT NOW TO HIGHLIGHTS PREVENT WIDESPREAD FAMINE Yemen remains world’s IN YEMEN worst humanitarian crisis António Guterres, the United Nations Secretary-General (UNSG), convened P 03 a high-level pledging event on 1 March, co-hosted by the Governments of Sweden and Switzerland, to call for immediate funding to prevent a large- Blockade and conflict scale famine in Yemen. take a heavy toll on Yemen’s economy P 05 OPERATIONAL Escalating hostilities in PEOPLE IN NEED PEOPLE TARGETED REQUIREMENTS (US$) Ma’rib force thousands PARTNERS of displaced people to flee again M M BN 167 P 06 The UN SG noted that two-thirds Nearly $1.7 billion were pledged Humanitarian of Yemenis need humanitarian at the high-level event which community welcomes assistance to survive while more was attended by more than 100 David Gressly as the than 16 million people will face representatives of Member States, new Humanitarian hunger this year, and nearly 50,000 donors, International Organizations, Coordinator for Yemen Yemenis are already starving to death UN Agencies, NGOs and civil society P 08 in famine-like conditions. Almost organizations. The UN described the half of Yemen’s children under age 5 outcome as disappointing. Pledges will suffer from acute malnutrition, announced were less than what including 400,000 who could die was received for the humanitarian without urgent treatment. response plan in 2020 and a billion dollars less than was pledged at the Funding for the aid operation is conference held in 2019. running out fast. At the high-level pledging event, the UN called for US$3.85 billion this year to help 16 million Yemenis in desperate need. 2 OVERVIEW OF PEOPLE TARGETED AND FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS BY CLUSTER IN NEED NUMBER OF FUNDING CLUSTER % TARGETED TARGETED PARTNERS REQUIRED Food Security and Agriculture 99% 90 1,708$ M Nutrition 83% 43 442.9$ M Health 58% 45 438.8$ M Water, Sanitation Hygiene 73% 80 330.7$ M Education 68% 70 257.8$ M Protection 54% 73 218.0$ M Shelter and NonFood Items 52% 167 207.6$ M Camp Coordination and Camp 21 61.3$ M Management 73% Refugee and Migrants MultiSector 100% 12 58.7$M Logistics 99 51.2$ M Rapid Response Mechanism 100% 11 37.6$ M Coordination 109 37.5$ M Emergency Telecommunications 41 3.3$ M 20.7 M M Total 77% 167 385$ B 165.10 M M Source: Clusters In his closing remarks, the UN Secretary- Department of Foreign Affairs, said: General António Guterres said: “Millions of “COVID-19 is not only a global health crisis; Yemeni children, women and men desperately it also acts as a magnifying glass. The people need aid to live. Cutting aid is a death of Yemen have suffered for years from armed sentence. The best that can be said about today conflict, famine, infectious diseases, the is that it represents a down payment. I thank effects of climate change and high inflation. those who did pledge generously, and I ask COVID-19 has made the dire living situation others to consider again what they can do to of these people even worse.” help stave off the worst famine the world has H.E. Ms. Ann Linde, Sweden’s Minister for seen in decades. ” Foreign Affairs, said: “Yemen is the world’s The Under-Secretary-General for most dangerous place for children. The only Humanitarian Affairs, Mark Lowcock, said: sustainable solution to the humanitarian “We are at a crossroads with Yemen. We can crisis is an end to the fighting and a political choose the path to peace or let Yemenis slide solution to the conflict. The international into the world’s worst famine for decades. An community must step up on funding to the adequately funded aid operation will prevent UN-coordinated humanitarian response and the spread of famine and create the conditions increase political support to the UN-led peace for lasting peace. If you’re not feeding the efforts.” people, you’re feeding the war.” H.E. Mr. Per Olsson Fridh, Sweden’s Minister H.E. Mr. Ignazio Cassis, Vice-President for International Development Cooperation of Switzerland and Head of the Federal and Humanitarian Affairs, added: “The people 3 of Yemen are being starved by the continued half of what was needed. Aid had to be cut as conflict. Without increased support to the a result, and people who need help are not humanitarian response, they will face the worst getting it. famine the world has seen in decades. Donors This year, aid agencies aim to help more than must now demonstrate their commitment 16 million people. Given the alarming data on to the Yemeni people and to our shared famine risk, with nearly 2.3 million children humanity.” under five who suffer acute malnutrition, as In 2020, funding for the aid operation in well as the presence of COVID-19, cholera and Yemen dropped dramatically. The UN and other threats, donors are urged to make funds NGO partners received $1.9 billion, or around available without delay. half of what they received the year before and YEMEN REMAINS WORLD’S WORST HUMANITARIAN CRISIS NUMBERNUMBER OF PEOPLE OF PEOPLE IN NEED IN NEED BY BY CLUSTER SECTOR ((2021)2021) Total people in need People in acute need M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M 1.19 1.17 16.15 5.11 20.07 11.55 15.77 8.04 5.55 2.93 7.34 2.91 0.67 0.67 7.56 4.71 15.36 8.66 0.28 0.28 16.2M 20.1M 15.4M 15.8M 7.6M 5.6M 1.2M 7.3M 0.3M 0.7M FOOD SECURITY HEALTH WAT E R , PROTECTION NUTRITION EDUCATION C A M P SHELTER & NFI REFUGEES & RAPID RESPONSE & AGRICULTURE SANITATION & COORDINATION MIGRANTS MECHANISM HYGIENE & C A M P MULTI-SECTOR MANAGEMENT Source: Clusters Yemen remains the world’s largest brought the number of Internally Displaced humanitarian crisis, with more than 20.7 People (IDPs) to at least 4 million. million people estimated to need humanitarian The shrinking economy is also a major driver assistance in 2021; 12.1 million people of whom of suffering. The economy and the currency are estimated to be in acute need, according to continued to collapse in 2020 as foreign the Humanitarian Needs Overview released by reserves were depleted and the government the Yemen Humanitarian Country Team on 22 was unable to subsidize food and other February 2021. These people are facing crisis or commodities for which Yemen is 90 per cent worse levels of severity of needs, in obtaining import-reliant. The situation was exacerbated the necessities of life, maintaining their health by the global COVID-19 turndown which led and wellbeing, and the coping strategies to a sharp drop in remittances – the largest employed just to stay alive. The analysis covers source of foreign currency and a lifeline for all 333 districts in Yemen; each has been many families where 80 per cent of people live affected by the humanitarian crisis. below the poverty line. As a result, millions of The humanitarian crisis in Yemen is a result of people are unable to afford their basic needs. a brutal armed conflict that escalated six years A fuel crisis in the north has led to price ago. It has killed and injured tens of thousands hikes, and provision of services in the health of civilians, causing immense suffering for and WASH clusters is becoming a challenge. the Yemeni people. In 2020, the conflict Government capacity to regularly pay salaries intensified, displacing 172,000 people, which and pensions to public employees has been 4 PEOPLE IN NEED BY DISTRICT (2021) Non-IDPs and IDPs people in need < 25,000 25,001 - 50,000 50,001 - 100,000 100,001 - 250,000 > 250,000 SANA'A CITY SA'DAH AL JAWF HADRAMAWT AL MAHARAH HAJJAH AMRAN AL MAHWIT MA'RIB AL HODEIDAH SANA'A SHABWAH DHAMAR AL BAYDA Ibb RAYMAH SOCOTRA ABYAN TA'IZ LAHJ ADEN AD DALI' Source: 2021 Yemen Humanitarian Needs Overview hindered and public services have been The HNO analysis projects a further degraded. deterioration in 2021 with the severity of needs expected to increase unless the war stops, The combined impact of these drivers of improvement in the economy, and increased the crisis is most visible in the growing risk humanitarian funding. In the absence of a of famine and severe acute malnutrition, political agreement, conflict will continue to disease outbreaks, conflict casualties, forced cause civilian casualties, internal displacement displacement and reversal of past development and damage to critical infrastructure, including gains. Recurring natural hazards will likely hospitals, schools, main supply routes and increase vulnerabilities and humanitarian economic markets. While armed conflict will needs in 2021. There is a real risk of a major oil continue to impede humanitarian operations, spill with potentially devastating implications bureaucratic restrictions, which had obstructed for the population if the maintenance of the the humanitarian response in past years, are FSO ‘SAFER’ tanker, floating off the Red Sea expected to continue to be a predominant Coast, is not conducted urgently. In addition, stumbling block. the conduct of the parties to the conflict has had a profound impact on the aid operation – particularly humanitarian access, aid delivery and data collection.