Humanitarian organizations, government of Yemen and League of Arab States call for renewed commitment to address the humanitarian crisis in Yemen [EN/AR]

Cairo, 17 March 2014 – The League of Arab States, the Government of Yemen and humanitarian partners today met in Cairo to discuss the 2014 Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan. The launch underlined the urgent need for the international community, including countries in the region, to provide support to meet the critical needs of millions of vulnerable people in the country.

Ambassador Faeqa Saeed Al Saleh, Assistant Secretary General of the League of Arab States and Head of Social Affairs Sector, called on its member states to “strengthen support to Yemen’s humanitarian sectors and increase coordination with the humanitarian community in order to ensure effective humanitarian assistance.” She also stressed that the Arab League will “carry out comprehensive efforts to support the people of Yemen”

“The scale of current needs makes Yemen one of the largest humanitarian emergencies globally,” the Humanitarian Coordinator, Mr Johannes Van Der Klaauw, said at the event. “In 2014, almost sixty per cent of Yemen’s population require humanitarian assistance to meet their most basic needs. The recent conflicts in Sa’ada, Amran and Al-Dhale’e Governorates have increased the vulnerability of thousands more people. In this context, we are concerned about protection of civilians in conflict and also limited humanitarian access.”

Some 14.7 million people are in need of some form of humanitarian assistance in 2014. This includes 10.5 million people who are food insecure, more than a million children under-5 who are acutely malnourished, 13.1 million people who have no access to safe water and adequate sanitation, 8.6 million people without access to health services, more than 300,000 people who are still displaced in the north and more than 251,000 refugees.

In addition to providing emergency aid to life-threatening needs, the 2014 humanitarian response plan is forward looking and focuses on early recovery, durable solutions and resilience to lift people out of vulnerability. It aims to meet the needs of 7.6 million people out of the 14.7 million who need humanitarian assistance in Yemen this year. Implementation of the plan requires US$592 million.

In 2013, only 53 per cent of the humanitarian requirement was met. The Health, Nutrition, Water and Sanitation, Protection, Education and Early Recovery Clusters received much less than 50 per cent of the required funding. There was, however, a welcome increase in the involvement of Gulf organizations and national partners from Yemen, in the humanitarian response.

This year, humanitarian activities have been prioritized based on overall needs assessed by partners in the southern, central and northern governorates of Yemen. The assessments found that women, girls and boys were particularly vulnerable because of lack of access to protection, education, health care and economic opportunities. In 2014, humanitarian programmes will therefore increase efforts to ensure equal access to services for women.

“On behalf of the NGO and UN partners in Yemen, we appeal to donors, Gulf and other Arab partners to support the 2014 humanitarian response plan,” the Humanitarian Coordinator added. “We urge Gulf organizations to prioritize response to the needs outlined in the 2014 humanitarian response plan. Yemen is going through a positive political transition, but this process can best succeed when the humanitarian needs of millions of vulnerable Yemenis are fully met.”

For further information, please contact:
Ogoso Erich, Public Information Officer, OCHA Yemen, ogoso@un.org, Tel. +967 712 222 831
Abdel Moneim Al Hakim, Yemen Focal Point, LAS, abdelmoneim.elhakim@hotmail.com, Tel: +201002553148
Najat Mraby, Media Relations Officer, League of Arab States, nougim@hotmail.com, Tel. +201001210663