$23.5 million appeal launched for Yemen

(Geneva/New York/Cairo, 2 September 2009): The humanitarian community in consultation with the Yemeni Government launched today a Flash Appeal seeking $23.5 million to provide humanitarian relief to people displaced by recent fighting between Yemeni Government forces and armed groups.

Although precise data are hard to establish owing to insecurity and lack of access, current estimates suggest that around 150,000 persons are displaced in northern Yemen. This includes 95,000 people affected by previous sporadic bouts of fighting, and 55,000 affected by more intense combat since July 2009.

Fighting has resulted in severe difficulties for agencies to access conflict-affected areas and populations. Despite this, humanitarian partners have coordinated their efforts to conduct inter-agency assessments as far as possible, to areas where IDP presence has been reported.

Rapid assessments undertaken in Sa'ada, Hajjah, Amran and Al-Jawf Governorates have identified food, health, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene, shelter and non-food items, emergency education and protection as the immediate aid priorities. Some displaced people are residing either with family and friends, in schools, in buildings under construction, or in makeshift shelters and tents. But displaced people have also been found without shelter, suffering particularly from the harsh summer climate.

The current crisis is unfolding in a context of high existing vulnerability of the local population due to poverty, lack of investment in basic services and the impact of repeated confrontations. The affected governorates are among the poorest in Yemen and have high levels of food insecurity. In Amran Governorate, for example, 68 percent of children are stunted. There have been recent outbreaks of measles and diarrhoeal diseases in the affected areas.

Some 12 non-governmental organization (NGO) projects, 25 UN projects, and one project of the International Organization for Migration are included in the appeal, which is to cover four months of relief work until the end of 2009.

"The civilian population in this part of northern Yemen has suffered from the combined effects of extreme poverty, protracted absence of health facilities, and insecurity for years before this latest crisis. Following the latest wave of displacement, needs are now acute," said United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes.

"The international humanitarian community has already responded swiftly using available in-country resources. The additional resources requested now will help get desperately needed supplies to displaced people and those supporting them," Mr. Holmes added.

The Emergency Relief Coordinator had already allocated $2.6 million in emergency funding from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) on 14 August to fund urgently needed humanitarian projects. So far in 2009, Yemen has received over $7.3 million from CERF. Humanitarian activities beyond December 2009 will be incorporated into a new humanitarian response strategy document, as necessary and appropriate.

For further information, please call:

OCHA-New York: Stephanie Bunker, +1 917 367 5126, mobile +1 917 892 1679,
bunker@un.org;

Nicholas Reader, +1 212 963 4961, mobile +1 646 752 3117, reader@un.org,

John Nyaga, +1 917-367-9262, mobile +1 917-318-8917, nyagaj@un.org

OCHA-Geneva: Elisabeth Byrs, +41 22 917 2653, mobile +41 79 473 4570, byrs@un.org

OCHA press releases are available at http://ochaonline.un.org or www.reliefweb.int

For more information about CERF, please see http://cerf.un.org