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Yemen Humanitarian Update Covering 27 August - 6 September 2018 | Issue 26

Countries
Yemen
Sources
OCHA
Publication date

KEY ISSUES:

  • As the depreciation of the Yemeni Rial continues, a further 3.5 million people may become food insecure and an additional 2 million may face a heightened risk of famine.

  • The conflict in Yemen continues to exact a heavy toll on civilians. In August, 241 civilian impact incidents were reported.

  • Humanitarian partners continue to work to prevent a third outbreak of cholera; some 133,000 suspected cholera cases have been confirmed since January.

  • As of 6 September, the Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan (YHRP) is 65 per cent funded with $1.92 billion received against the overall requirement of $2.96 billion.

DEPRECIATION OF THE YEMENI RIAL

In the first six months of 2018, the value of the Yemeni Rial decreased from YER 460 to the US$ in January to YER 485 to the US$ in June. In the first week of September, following a further sharp decrease in the value of the currency, the exchange rate stood at YER 600 to the US$. The depreciation of the currency has affected the average market price of basic food commodities which have increased by up to 10 per cent in recent weeks. The cost of the minimum food basket has increased by 35 per cent since November 2017. The price of fuel commodities - cooking gas, diesel and petrol - have also increased by more than 25 per cent between November 2017 and September 2018. In the short term the result of the depreciation is likely to be that an additional 3.5 million people will become food insecure, adding to the existing caseload of 8.4 million people who need emergency food assistance, and over 2 million people are likely to be at heightened risk of famine.

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/.