Yemen. Humanitarian Situation Report. Highlights. Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs. People in need of urgent humanitarian assistance:

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1 UNICEF Yemen/April 2016/Soraia Abu Monassar Yemen Humanitarian Situation Report April 2016 Highlights In April, a nationwide cessation of hostilities began and a new round of peace talks started with high hopes for further steps towards the long-waited peace in Yemen. UNICEF and partners welcome the agreement and expanded the humanitarian response in previously active conflict areas namely; Taiz, Sa ada, Al Jawf, Marib and Al Bayda including education assessment in Taiz and Sa ada. Between 10 and 12 April, UNICEF supported a Nation-wide polio vaccination campaign. At least 4.6 million children under 5 years were vaccinated against polio and over 3.9 million children were given Vitamin A. UNICEF provided the 6 th monthly cycle of humanitarian cash transfers for over 4,700 vulnerable families in Amanat Al Asimah. Preparation are underway to increase the number of target households in Taiz governorate in the coming months. UNICEF mobile teams were deployed and provided emergency health and nutrition services to 107 IDPs families in Amran as an immediate response to the flash floods affecting nearly 30,000 people in seven governorates. Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs People in need of urgent humanitarian assistance: 21.1 million people, of which: 9.9 million are children 2.7 million are IDPs (31% children) (Task Force on Population Movement 8 th report, Protection Cluster) 320,000 children under 5 at risk of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) 19.3 million people in need of WASH assistance 14.1 million people in need of basic health care UNICEF 2016 Requirements: US $180 million Funds received in 2016: US $ 32.7 million (82 per cent gap) Overall Funding Status* In April 2016, the international humanitarian community welcomed the long-waited cessation of hostilities agreed by the parties of the conflict in Yemen and the continuation of the peace talks. Although various official and unofficial sources confirmed a significant reduction in violence since the beginning of the truce, hostilities were reported in several parts of the country causing the delay of the peace talks until 21 April, which were set to open in Kuwait on 18 April. Nevertheless, UNICEF and partners were able to reach areas difficult to access in Taiz, Sa ada, Al Jawf, Marib and Al Bayda. Regarding the cessation of hostilities, in a joint statement Ms. Leila Zerrougui - Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict - and Dr. Peter Salama - UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa- called on all parties to the conflict to comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law, to commit to releasing children who have been recruited and used in the fighting, and to end all Funded $32.7M 18% Total Requested $180M Gap $147.3M 82% *Excluding US$ 59.7 million carried forward into

2 grave violations against boys and girls. Parties should take every possible measure to protect schools and hospitals, and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance to children and all those in need. The sustained conflict has left over 21.1 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in Yemen, as estimated by the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) by the end of But the caseload continues to increase with 2.7 million internal displaced persons (IDP) -according to the latest report of TFPM 1 - a six-fold the number of IDPs at the same time last year. In addition, since 13 April nearly 30,000 people have been affected by flash floods consequence of heavy rains across seven governorates. 2 Floods caused damage to infrastructure and crops, and loss of livestock. Sana'a, Amran and Marib governorates also affected by the ongoing violence reported the highest number of people with urgent needs of shelter, food, health and WASH assistance. UNICEF deployed immediate assistance to Amran after the emergency where mobile teams provided health and nutrition assistance. Humanitarian Leadership and Coordination UNICEF continues to work in coordination with the Yemen Humanitarian Country Team (HCT), leading the WASH, Education and Nutrition Clusters and the Child Protection Sub-Cluster, and continues to be an active member of the Health Cluster. UNICEF has also established sub-national level Clusters for WASH, Child Protection and Education in Aden and Nutrition Sub-Clusters in all field offices. UNICEF has been the lead agency to establish humanitarian hubs in Ibb and Sa ada. UNICEF continues to review and monitor programme implementation through local partners, utilising remote monitoring and innovative mobile technology. Efforts continue to diversify and expand partnerships with local NGOs to deliver humanitarian programmes on the ground. Humanitarian Strategy The Level 3 Corporate Emergency activated in 2015 has been extended until 30 June UNICEF s humanitarian strategy continues to be guided by its Core Commitments to Children in Humanitarian Action and are in line with the Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan (YHRP) UNICEF continues to advocate at country, regional and global level for unhindered humanitarian access, protection of humanitarian supplies and sites. UNICEF remains focused on ensuring availability of basic social services to the most vulnerable including IDPs, host communities and other conflict-affected populations. UNICEF provides an integrated package of both preventive and curative health and nutrition services to children under 5 and pregnant and lactating women. This is done via support to mobile clinics, community outreach activities and health facilities. In addition, displaced families are being provided safe water and hygiene facilities. UNICEF also continues to works with government partners to re-open schools, provide catch up classes, teaching and learning supplies and encourage alternative accommodation for displaced persons occupying schools. Psychosocial support is provided to children and their families through schools and community facilities, including child friendly spaces. Through the Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism (MRM) on Grave Violations against Children - that covers over 50 districts in ten governorates - UNICEF continues to generate data to monitor the situation and provide response, and to advocate with parties to conflict and other stakeholders for protection of civilians. Given the fairly suboptimal pre-conflict situation and the further deterioration in livelihoods and financial vulnerabilities and their grave impact on children and women, UNICEF is working to ensure that targeted cash grants reach the most vulnerable families in Yemen. There is need for rapid scale up of this assistance in its sustainability at least for the near future. Given the disputed nature of the government of Yemen, UNICEF has maintained both its political neutrality and working relationships with government by partnering with technical ministries and sub-national government entities to deliver impartial humanitarian relief. To maintain coordination, UNICEF s rolling working plans have been shared with and signed by relevant line ministries. Summary Analysis of Programme Response Health & Nutrition UNICEF and partners continue putting in place an integral intervention for continued service delivery through mobile teams in the most affected areas, community outreach in remote locations and support to health facilities. 320,000 children under 5 at risk of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) 14.1 million people 1 8 th Report of the Task Force on Population Movement (TFPM) 2 Hodeidah, Amran, Hajjah, Sana'a, Abyan, Al Mahwit and Marib. 2

3 During April, UNICEF and partners continued the scale up on its Community Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) programme. At least 107,941 children from 6 to 59 months 3 were screened for acute malnutrition; of these, 22,455 children 4 were treated for severe acute malnutrition (SAM). To complement the nutrition interventions, 274 children with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) 5 received hygiene kits. In addition, 10,033 children received vitamin A and micronutrient supplement, and 6,891 received deworming capsules. Mothers, pregnant and lactating women (PLW) also benefited from CMAM, 31,186 mothers of children under 59 months received infant and young child feeding counselling, and 40,739 PLW received iron folate supplementation. During the reporting period, 757 health workers, volunteers and midwifes from eight governorates took part of capacity building initiatives supported by UNICEF for training community health workers and volunteers on CMAM, IYCF, growth monitoring and nutrition program strengthening (see Table 1). Between 10 and 12 April, a three day nationwide polio vaccination campaign was conducted in Yemen. According to preliminary reports, at least 4.6 million children under 5 years were vaccinated against polio and over 3.9 million children 6 were given Vitamin A. More than 46,000 health workers at central, governorate and district level were involved in the campaign, including 40,000 vaccinators. The campaign was jointly supported by UNICEF, WHO and World Bank. UNICEF funded operational costs in seven governorates, supported social mobilization and communication activities, supported supervision activities of the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MoPHP), assisted the functioning of the national Polio control room and provided 5.6 million doses of OPV for the campaign. In Al Mukalla (Hadramout), all vaccinated children were screened for acute malnutrition. Due to hostilities, activities were suspended in two districts in Taiz. On 23 April, Yemen launched the OPV switch from topv 7 to bopv. 8 UNICEF procured approx million doses of bopv which were distributed to all service delivery points by the 21st of April. UNICEF also supported the development of the health workers guideline, and communication and awareness activities. In response to flash floods reported since 13 April, UNICEF supported the immediate deployment of mobile teams in Amran. In collaboration with the EU, mobile teams screened schools to identify IDP settlements and provided health and nutrition services (see Table 2). Table 1: Capacity building initiatives supported by UNICEF (April 2016) Activity No. people Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) trained on 97 CMAM and IYCF. 9 (Taiz, Sana a) CHVs trained on growth monitoring and community mobilization (Taiz) 124 Health workers (HW) trained on CMAM (Lahj, 46 Dhala) HW took part of CMAM refresher trainings 291 (Amran) Midwives trained on IYCF (Raymah) 48 CHV and HW participated in evaluation meetings 123 CHV / to collect reports, promote dialogue on lessons 28 HW learnt, programming strengths and challenges, and discuss solutions (Shabwah). Table 2: Services provided by mobile teams in floods-affected communities (Amran, April 2016) Service Delivery of hygiene kits along with hygiene awareness sessions. Screening for malnutrition (3 boys, 1 girl found to be severely acute malnourished) SAM cases admitted to the outpatient therapeutic program Antenatal care and folic acid Postnatal care and folic acid Birth control measures Integrated management of childhood illness Vaccination lack sufficient access to healthcare Beneficiaries 107 IDP families 189 children 4 children 40 pregnant women 34 lactating women 61 women 245 children under 5 13 children Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) During April, nearly 2.1 million people have been provided with regular access to water, 19.3 million people through the fuel support given by UNICEF to Local Water Corporations 10 in eight governorates. 11 Water trucking continued for 52,133 people (including 33,375 in conflict-affected with WASH needs districts of Taiz and 18,758 people in three other governorates 12 ). In three governorates 13, 3,610 ceramic water filters were distributed reaching more than 23,000 people, 129 water tanks were installed to serve IDP families 14 and hygiene awareness sessions were conducted reaching 29,603 individuals ,091 male, 54,850 female. 4 10,132 boys, 12,323 girls boys, 154 girls ,000 children 6-11 months, 3.47 million children months. 7 topv: trivalent oral polio vaccine. 8 bopv: bivalent oral polio vaccine. 9 IYCF: Infant and Young Child Feeding. 10 Local water authorities. 11 Amanat Al Asimah (Sana a city), Al Hudaydah, Amran, Hajjah, Sa'ada, Abyan, Lahj and Marib governorates. 12 Amanat Al Asimah, Sa'ada and Al Jawf governorates. 13 In Socotra: 493 filters for 3,451 people. Shabwah: 500 filters for 3,500 people. Al Jawf: 2,617 filters for 16,632 people.. 14 In Hajjah and Sa'ada governorates.. 15 In Amran, Hajjah and Shabwah governorates. 3

4 Ensure the continuity of sanitation services is crucial to disease prevention. With UNICEF support, the wastewater treatment plant in Amanat Al Asimah continued operating benefiting at least 1.4 million people in Sana a city. In four governorates, UNICEF supports the solid waste management in a catchment area of over 1,128,104 people 16. UNICEF distributed 4,789 hygiene kits to approx. 31,836 people in four governorates 17 and 1,115 monthly consumable hygiene to IDPs families in settlements in Hajjah. 18 Child Protection In the last two months, UNICEF has expanded the Child Protection programme and partnerships with implementing partners -including government, local and international NGOsas well as its geographic coverage million children in need of protection services During April, the CTF MR 19 verified 29 incidents of grave violations: three killing and maiming, 23 recruitment and use, one case of abduction and two attacks on hospitals. In order to improve reporting capacities, the MRM network is integrating the identification of children affected by conflict within existing child friendly spaces (CFS). Animators in ten CFS in Amanat Al Asimah and Sana a are now trained on identify and reporting on grave violations affecting children. Additionally, 12 females and 27 males have been trained on MRM in Taiz. During the reporting period, UNICEF trained staff from nine INGOs on MRM, this is part of the collaboration between MRM network and the OCHA-led Access Monitoring and Reporting Frame to monitor access constraints. To help children overcome the psychosocial well-being of children exposed to conflict, UNICEF continues to provide psychosocial support (PSS) through community based and mobile CFS activities, reaching at least 81,119 conflict-affected children in April. Mine risk education (MRE) activities were scaled up in areas of difficult access such as Taiz and Al Jawf, and reached at least 200,179 people 20 with life-saving information on how to protect themselves from the risks of mines, UXOs 21 and ERW 22 in southern and northern governorates, particularly in Taiz during the cessation of hostilities. On the occasion of the International Day for Mine risk Education and Mine Assistance (4 April), UNICEF supported YEMAC 23 to raise awareness and advocate to protect civilians from the impact of the conflict, including: a photo exhibition, six TV and radio flashes, six TV round tables, and two songs featured on TV and Radio. Given the increasing needs in southern governorates, in coordination with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour (MO- SAL), UNIEF conducted two intensive training workshops on PSS/CFS and MRE with 36 participants from MOSAL branches and local NGOs in six governorates. Trainees are now equipped with information and skills to train community volunteers. Since 17 April, a total of 30,703 marginalized, disadvantaged and vulnerable children were provided with birth certificates through Civil Registration Authority (CRA) mobile teams in four governorates. 24 At the same time, children, parents and community members received awareness on the importance of birth registration and how to seek the service in the future. Education Over 560,000 children 25 remain out of school due to continued closure of 1,600 schools during most of the school year 2015/2016, as a consequence of insecurity, occupation by IDPs or use by armed groups. 560,000 children remain out of school To minimize the impact of the crisis and assist families to keep their children enrolled in schools, UNICEF provides school bags, teaching and learning materials and supports the Ministry of Education efforts to restore functionality of affected schools. To accommodate IDP students, UNICEF also provided temporary learning spaces and psychosocial support. Taking the opportunity provided by the cessation of hostilities, UNICEF team managed to assess education needs in some districts of Taiz and Sa ada. UNICEF was able to increase its outreach in comparison with the previous month, reaching 16 Al Bayda: 70,000 people, Ibb: 494,104 people (Jiblah, Al Dhihar and Al Mashannah districts), Sa'ada: 64,000 people, Taiz: 500,000 people (Al Qahirah, Al Mudhaffar and At Ta'iziyah districts). 17 Amran: 81 basic hygiene kits distributed to 567 people, Socotra: 1,591 basic hygiene kits distributed to 11,137 people, Shabwah: 500 basic hygiene kits distributed to 3,500 people, Al Jawf: 2,617 basic hygiene kits distributed to 16,632 people. 18 In Hajjah governorate 1,115 monthly consumable hygiene kits distributed to 8,035 people. 19 CTF MR: Country Task Force on Monitoring and Reporting of grave violations of child rights in armed conflict ,023 children, 43,156 adults. 21 UXO: Unexploded ordnance. 22 ERW: Explosive remnants of war. 23 YEMAC: Yemen Executive Mine Action Center. 24 Sana a, Amran, Dhamar and Hodeidah. 25 The estimate number of affected children was recently recalculated by UNICEF, based on an average of 350 children per school according to Ministry of Education data. 4

5 160,779 IDP and other affected children in six governorates with school bags, teaching and learning supplies, school rehabilitation and psychosocial support activities. To improve the physical environment of learning spaces, UNICEF has completed the rehabilitation of 59 schools in five governorates 26 providing access to 74,808 out of school children. In addition, 1,694 social workers and teachers were trained on skills to provide psychosocial support for affected children. In Sa ada and Taiz governorates, at least 919 schools remain closed due to the security situation. In those most conflictaffected districts, UNICEF supports children right to education through the establishment of temporary learning spaces, community classes, providing education supplies and incentives for community volunteer teachers, in collaboration with the central and local level authorities. Social Policy During the reporting period, UNICEF reached 4,960 and 4,740 families with the 5 th and 6 th 8 million people cycles of cash assistance respectively, in Amanat Al Asimah. Cash transfers of US$ 100 are in need of social protection disbursed on a monthly basis for a period of six months. A press briefing was organized on 23 April to highlight the success of the programme. In addition, two short films are being produced featuring the achievements of the programme. In Taiz, UNICEF reached 7,443 families with the 3 rd cycle of cash assistance. Preparations are currently underway to expand the target in Taiz. Initially, the planned expansion will cover Muhamasheen 27 families who were not included in the survey that UNICEF conducted in 2014 in nine districts, and in addition will reach other vulnerable and poor not- Muhamasheen families living in hard-to-access districts in Taiz. Communication for Development (C4D) During the reporting period, 54,392 individuals were reached and engaged around key life-saving messages and practices through interpersonal means. UNICEF, in partnership with local NGOs and volunteers, has supported community mobilization and participation responding to IDP needs in Taiz and Ibb, including tracking of and immunization of child defaulters in all governorates through the April National polio campaign, in addition to promoting exclusive breastfeeding and appropriate complementary infant feeding, handwashing with soap, and safe household water storage. Due to security challenges in southern governorates, some activities were suspended during one week, the security situation may continue to hamper the implementation of activities in this region. Supply and Logistics Since the escalation of the crisis in late March 2015, a total of 4,848 metric tons of emergency supplies have been sent to Yemen via the Djibouti emergency logistics platform. In total, 48 dhows and 15 cargo flights have been chartered to ensure the continuity of the supply pipeline into Yemen. During the reporting period, two dhows have been chartered to deliver emergency supplies to Hodeidah port. Two cargo flights were chartered to carry vaccines to Sana a: 369,800 vials of pneumococcal vaccines (to cover 369,800 children s), 240,284 vials of DTP Hep B-Hib (to cover 240,284 children) and 40,000 vials of IPV (to cover 400,000 children), were successfully handed over to the Ministry of Health in Sana a. In addition, 43 Mt of cargo (solar fridges and school kits) are sailing with the logistics cluster ship to Hodeidah. A second shipment of RUTF cartons (sufficient to cover 9,999 children for one month) arrived directly in Aden without passing via Djibouti and using commercial shipping lines. During the reporting period, 10,734 cartons of RUTF (sufficient to cover 10,734 children with malnutrition during one month), 10,010 school bag kits, 5,800 family hygiene kits and 16 tents were distributed to implementing partners within Yemen. 26 Taiz, Hodaidah, Sana a, Amran, Amanat Al Asimah. 27 Al Muhamasheen, ( the marginalized ) designates a marginalized demographic group in Yemen, mostly living in slum areas and outskirts of cities, suffering the highest rates of unemployment and poverty. 5

6 Funding In line with the Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP), UNICEF s 2016 appeal is for US$180 million, UNICEF has received US$32,669,082 against the appeal, leaving an 82 per cent funding gap. 28 Additionally, US$ 59.7 million have been rolled over pledged against the 2015 appeal. Sector Requirements Funding Received* Funding Gap US$ % US$ % Nutrition 61,500,000 5,504,855 9% 55,995,145 91% Health 36,000,000 8,958,002 25% 27,041,998 75% Water, Sanitation and Hygiene 48,500,000 7,953,072 16% 40,546,928 84% Child Protection 14,000,000 5,204,168 37% 8,795,832 63% Education 14,000, ,042 4% 13,421,958 96% Social Protection in Emergency 6,000,000 4,319,412 72% 1,680,588 28% Being allocated 151,531 Sub-Total 180,000,000 32,669,082 18% 147,330,918 82% Carry-forward US$ 59,692,673 Total funding available** US$ 91,797,207 Grand Total 180,000,000 92,361,755 51% 87,638,245 49% *Funds received do not include pledges. **Total funding available includes total funds received against current appeal plus carry-forward. Next SitRep: First week of June UNICEF Yemen Facebook: UNICEF Yemen Who to contact for further information: Meritxell Relaño Deputy Representative UNICEF Yemen Sana a Tel: mrelano@unicef.org Rajat Madhok Chief of Communications UNICEF Yemen Sana a Tel: rmadok@unicef.org Isabel Suarez Reports Specialist UNICEF Yemen Jordan Tel: isuarez@unicef.org 28 As of 19 April,

7 SUMMARY OF PROGRAMME RESULTS 2016 PROGRAMME TARGETS AND RESULTS* 2016 Overall needs 2016 Target Cluster Total 2016 Results 2016 Target UNICEF Total 2016 Results NUTRITION Number of children under 5 are treated for Severe 319, ,562 53, ,562 53,275 Acute Malnutrition (SAM) Number of PLWs benefitted from the IYCF counselling 2,076, ,119 71, ,119 71,861 Number of children under 5 given micronutrient interventions 4,298, ,000 3,930,187 4,000,000 3,930,187* 1 HEALTH Number of children under 1 vaccinated against measles 953, ,000 70,962 (MCV1) Number of children under 5 vaccinated against polio 5,039,936 5,039,936 4,686,395* Number of children under 5 receiving primary health 2,387, , ,910 care Number of pregnant and lactating women receiving 2,076, , ,337 primary health care WASH Number of affected population (men, woman, boys 8,391,079 6,384,984 3,804,948 5,186,000 3,778,392* and girls) provided with improved water sources and environmental sanitation services by developing, rehabilitating and maintaining the Public and community infrastructures 3 Number of affected people with access to safe water 1,750, , , ,000 64,149 as per agreed standards (7.5-15L per person per day) Number of affected people provided with standard 1,750,000 1,382, , , ,311 basic hygiene kits CHILD PROTECTION 4 Number of children in conflict-affected areas covered 2,473,352 1,372, ,302 1,372, ,104 by MRM interventions Number of children in conflict-affected areas receiving 1,821, , , , ,757 psychosocial support Number of children and community members receiving 1,927, , , , ,154 knowledge to protect themselves against in- jury/death of mine/uxo explosion EDUCATION Number of affected school-aged children provided 497, ,500 93, ,000 80,990 with access to education via Temporary Learning Spaces and School Rehabilitation Number of affected children receiving psychosocial 1,800, , , ,000 94,671 support services in schools Number of affected children with access to basic 2,000, , , , ,000* learning supplies, books and classroom furniture to be integrated into education system 5 SOCIAL PROTECTION Number of vulnerable individuals reached with humanitarian 8,000,000 34,285 45,000 Cash transfer in Yemen 6 C4D Number of affected people reached through integrated C4D efforts 2,000,000 1,200, ,953 Footnotes: (*)Some programme results appear high as they are part of ongoing efforts initiated in 2015 (i.e. Number of affected population provided with improved water sources and environmental sanitation services an indicator which measures large-scale urban and rural water programmes; Number of children under 5 vaccinated against polio were results are mostly attributed to the national vaccination campaigns). Other results are expected to be achieved more gradually. 1. UNICEF s target for the indicator is 4,000,000 U5 children as Micronutrients interventions that UNICEF is supporting include Vit A supplementation and micronutrients sprinkles supplementation, while Nutrition cluster target did not include the Vit A supplementation and will consider only micronutrients sprinkles supplementation target: 276,000 children under Number of PLWs benefitted from the IYCF counselling estimated based on the total number of PLWs (8% of population). Number of children under 5 given micronutrient interventions, estimated based on the total number of children from 6 to 59 months old. 3. Cumulative catchment number of people accessing safe drinking water through rehabilitation / repair of the existing urban water supply systems with established operations /maintenance routines, rehabilitation of rural and urban water and sewage systems infrastructure including supply of equipment, spare parts, fuel, chemicals for treatment and other operation and maintenance costs, and the cumulative catchment of number of people benefitting from support to solid waste management services with supply of equipment, spare parts, fuel and other operational costs. 4. Cluster results as of 31 March, April figures are being consolidated and will be available on the next report. UNICEF and CP SC targets are based on access and capacity of partners, which at the time of the exercise (October 2015) were ranked low as reflection of the situation. Next month, UNICEF and the CPSC will perform the mid-year review of the YHRP. 5. Total overall needs under this HPM indicator includes the total overall needs for Number of affected children receiving psychosocial support services in schools. Henceforth the overall total needs is 2,497, UNICEF target for 2016 is markedly low compared to 2015 since this activity moved from being under the NFI/Shelter Cluster to being under the Protection Cluster. Associated with this change in clusters was a change in the limits of funds that could be appealed, and thus a change in the target. SP section -with the Protection Cluster- will consider the possibility of adjusting the target during the YHRP mid-year review. 7