Yemen: UNHCR Operational Update, 8 June – 15 June 2021

KEY FIGURES
20.7 million people in need
Over 4 million internally displaced
Over 80 per cent have been displaced for more than a year
36,726 individuals (6,121 families) newly displaced in 2021
Children and women represent up to 79 per cent of the total IDP population
128,603 refugees 11,543 asylum-seekers
FUNDING
USD 271 M required for 2021 operations
IDP Response
During the reporting period, UNHCR provided a range of protection services to some 2,000 internally displaced Yemenis including psychosocial support, legal assistance, emergency cash assistance, child protection and prevention of gender-based violence (GBV). Most beneficiaries reached were in Al Hudaydah, Ibb, Sana’a, Sa’ada, Amran, Marib and Aden governorates. In addition, UNHCR provided referral services for persons with specific needs. A total of nine cases were identified in Hudaydah alone for referral to specialized medical services, including two children and one woman. In Amran, legal assistance helped 40 families secure necessary documentation to avoid eviction. UNHCR further conducted household assessments and protection monitoring covering 680 families in Marib to better understand the protection environment, causes of displacement, and identify the most critical needs and protection risks requiring immediate action.
Heavy rains were observed in Hudaydah, affecting IDPs living in 23 hosting sites. Initial field observations revealed significant damage to shelters and loss of property, leaving affected families in dire need of shelter assistance and core relief items (CRIs). UNHCR distributed shelter kits and NFIs to support the families, while UNHCR partners conducted community awareness-raising campaigns targeting some 2,700 individuals living in the sites where flood hazards are higher in order to improve awareness on disaster risk reduction.
During the reporting period, UNHCR provided some additional 2,000 families (12,000 individuals) with CRIs and emergency shelter kits, primarily in Marib and other areas in Hudaydah governorate. Partners are further working on the completion of 880 tehama emergency shelters in Hudaydah, and have finalized excavation works for an additional 750 shelters.
Refugee Response
UNHCR is dismayed to learn of yet another boat carrying migrants and asylum- seekers capsizing off the coast of Yemen on 14 June. The boat left Djibouti earlier in the week and sank off Yemen’s southern Lahj governorate, with 25 bodies retrieved so far. The Operation is currently verifying the identities of those who perished and is joining efforts to assist the survivors. Boat crossings in the Gulf of Aden typically involve a mix of migrants in search of better opportunities, as well as asylum-seekers fleeing war and persecution—mostly from the Horn of Africa—who continue to embark on these perilous journeys. UNHCR continues to urge countries and governments to work together to reduce the loss of life among persons attempting dangerous sea crossings through the creation of legal pathways to safety in third countries for those who have no choice but to flee their homes.

Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees