Projects

Short Description:

Overall goal

The ICRC will continue to address and alleviate the humanitarian consequences of the armed conflicts and other situations of violence in Yemen, while working to ensure the safety of its staff members amid the worsening insecurity.

Expected results

The ICRC Appeal is targeting in total up to 3 million civilians (residents, IDPs, migrants in all regions of the country), as well as eight hospitals (Mukalla, Aden, Taiz, Sana’a and Sa’ada). The results the ICRC aims to reach in Yemen in 2017 are:

1. Authorities and weapon bearers accept and support the ICRC and its humanitarian work, notably by facilitating its access to people affected by armed conflicts and other situations of violence.

2. Weapon-wounded patients receive timely and appropriate surgical treatment at a hospital in Aden that develops its surgical capacities with comprehensive support from the ICRC.

3. IDPs and residents meet some of their basic needs with the help of food, essential items and cash provided by the Yemen Red Crescent Society and the ICRC, directly or in exchange for working in community-based projects.

4. Vulnerable households resume or improve their livelihoods after receiving farming or fishing materials from the ICRC, or after having their livestock treated or vaccinated through ICRC supported veterinary services.

5. Detainees receive ICRC visits to monitor their treatment and living conditions, including their access to health care. They are able to restore or maintain contact with their relatives.

6. National Society staff respond to people’s immediate needs safely, especially given the prevailing instability and the attacks against humanitarian workers, with technical, material and financial support from the ICRC.

Target group / Beneficiaries

The Austrian Contribution of 1 million Euro can, for instance, be used to support up to 77.800 people (9.725 households, including female-headed households) with essential household items and food supplies. With this support, the target group would be able to cover its basic nutritional and household needs for one month. The ICRC works closely with the Yemen Red Crescent Society and implements its activities in Mukalla, Aden, Taiz, Sana’a and Sa’ada.

Activities

Activities aimed at helping people cover their nutritional and other basic needs include:

- Distribution of essential household items, including mattresses, blankets, jerry cans and hygiene items (including hygiene items for women) to up to 77.800 civilians / 9.725 households.

-Distribution of food and nutritional supplements to up to 77.800 civilians / 9.725 households sufficient for at least a month - when feasible, providing some of these households with cash instead of in-kind assistance will be considered.

Context

Numerous armed conflicts and other situations of violence are taking place throughout Yemen; heavy fighting, shelling and air strikes continue in many areas. Hostilities between a Saudi Arabia-led military coalition and the Houthis, which began in March 2015, have reportedly escalated after UN-mediated negotiations between the parties involved collapsed in July 2016. The Al-Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula, the Islamic State group and other armed groups are active in different parts of the country. The structure of the government is still unclear, and various groups have laid claim to or governed certain geographical areas.

Civilians continue to bear the brunt of the violence. Thousands have been reported killed or injured, and millions displaced. IDPs and residents alike have difficulties obtaining basic commodities and essential services, owing to damages on public infrastructure and restrictions on the movement of goods and people. Only a few international organizations are active in Yemen, as conducting humanitarian operations in the country continues to be difficult. Health-care facilities, such as those supported by Médecins Sans Frontières, and offices of humanitarian organizations are often directly attacked.

Despite the violence, migrants use the country as a transit point to Saudi Arabia and elsewhere. Many of them are reportedly arrested upon reaching Yemen.

At the beginning of 2017, the ICRC has appealed for a total of 48.5 million CHF for their Yemen program.