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UNICEF Yemen Humanitarian Situation Report (March 2019) [EN/AR]

Countries
Yemen
Sources
UNICEF
Publication date

Highlights

• The first payment cycle for the Education Teachers' Incentives (ETI), started on 28 February and ended on 9 March, targeting 109,456 teachers and school staff across 11 governorates. A total of 97,710 teachers and school staff (89 per cent) have collected their incentives. The ETI aims to provide incentives to those teachers and school staff who are not in receipt of salary but who report to work, in order to keep education accessible to children throughout Yemen.

• A spike in Acute Watery Diarrhea/ suspected cholera has resulted in a scale-up of the cholera response in Yemen by humanitarian organizations, including UNICEF. Increased activities are taking place across WASH, Health and Communication for Development programmes in the 38 high priority districts for a comprehensive response to the surge in suspected cases. UNICEF is working closely with other humanitarian agencies to ensure an effective and complimentary response in the country. The current spike is concentrated in six governorates: Amanat Al Asimah, Al Hudaydah, Sana’a, Ibb, Amran and Dhamar, which together account for nearly two thirds of reported cases. (OCHA Humanitarian Update 7-21 March 2019).

• The UN Country Task Force on Monitoring and Reporting (UNCTFMR) verified 44 children as killed (22 boys; 22 girls) and 75 as injured (54 boys; 21 girls), whilst the recruitment and use of children by parties to the conflicted affected 22 boys. Most of the verified incidents were documented in Taizz governorate (constituting 36 per cent of all incidents), followed by Al Dhale and Al Hudaydah governorates, where 20 and 16 per cent of this month’s incidents were documented.

Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs

Two years after Yemen suffered its worst cholera outbreak, the disease remains endemic. The number of reported suspected cases of cholera and acute watery diarrhoea spiked in March. The data collected by the Ministry of Public Health and Population, with the support of the World Health organisation (WHO), indicates that 164,833 suspected cases and 355 associated deaths were recorded between 1 January and 31 March, with about one third of the cases being children under the age of five. UNICEF’s WASH, Health and Communication for Development programmes have accelerated and expanded their activities in the 38 high priority districts in an effort to deliver a comprehensive response, which includes deployment of Rapid Response teams, establishment and strengthening of Diarrhoea Treatment Centres and Oral Rehydration Centres in all priority districts, distribution of hygiene kits, chlorination of water sources and increased hygiene awareness messaging and training in communities in cholera-prone areas. UNICEF is working closely with other humanitarian agencies to ensure an effective and complimentary response in the country; as part of this, UNICEF contributed to the Integrated Cholera Response Plan (ICRP) which addresses the needs of 0.5 million cases.

The fighting and violence continues in Hajjah governorate, resulting in ongoing displacement. According to local authorities, more than 9,700 families were recently displaced to 18 districts in Hajjah governorate; most live in open spaces and public buildings and require humanitarian assistance. UNICEF is supporting 31 out of the 39 health facilities in four districts of Hajjah governorate with operation costs and incentives for health workers. In addition, eight mobile health teams provide an integrated package of primary health and nutrition services for displaced people and host communities.

The World Bank published its latest Yemen Economic Monitoring Brief, which stated that Yemen’s economic and social fabric continues to disintegrate. While official statistics are not available, partial information and anecdotal evidence suggest that Yemen’s GDP has contracted by 39 per cent since the end of 2014. The poverty rate is projected to have increased by 33 per cent since 2014, which means that 52 per cent of the population in Yemen is likely to live in poverty in 2019.