Yemen UNHCR Update, 1 - 14 February 2018
KEY FIGURES
-
22.2 million people in need
-
2,014,026 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)
-
89 per cent of IDPs displaced for more than a year
-
956,076 IDP returnees
-
1,015,375 recipients of CRIs since March 2015
-
280,692 refugees and asylum seekers
Funding
USD 198.7 M requested in 2018
Operational Update
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has issued a stark warning as new displacement figures climb. According to the latest information gathered, as of 9 February, from partners, local authorities and community outreach efforts, some 85,000 people have been forced from their homes since December 2017 because of conflict, a figure which continues to rise.
Yemen’s west coast continues to be the highest source of the new displacement. Current military escalations on the west coast are leading to hundreds of people having to flee their homes on a daily basis, including from the districts of Al Khawkhah, Al Garrahi and Hays in southern Hudaydah; and from Mokha and Mawza in Taizz. The majority of those fleeing violence from the west coast are fleeing east to Abyan, where more than 21,000 individuals have fled, whilst others are attempting to seek refuge elsewhere within Taizz and Hudaydah Governorates. Some 13,600 people have been newly displaced within Taizz, while more than 12,300 people have been newly displaced within Al Hudaydah, with others fleeing the west coast across the country to Lahj, Al Maharah, Aden, Ibb, Dhamar, Hadramaut and Shabwah.
UNHCR is however worried that with hostilities escalating and leading to substantial new displacement, funding for the humanitarian response is yet to trickle in. For 2018, UNHCR is appealing for close to USD 200 million to respond to critical and prioritised humanitarian needs but is starting the year with just four per cent of funding available.