Emergency food security assistance for the most vulnerable individuals at risk of famine facing catastrophic conditions in Al Khwakhah district, Al Hudaydah governorate. (Parameter 1 : Expanding high impact programs in districts classified as IPC 4 and above) Yemen is facing one of the world’s largest humanitarian crisis with 22.2 millions of people in need. The conflict has caused thousands of civilian casualties, public services collapse and challenged food access in almost all the territory. As a result, more than 20.1 million people – over 67% of the total population – is requiring emergency food assistance. Al Hudaydah governorate in particular has been severely affected in 2018 due to active fighting and massive population displacements within the governorate. Within the governorate, 17 districts out of 26 are in Integrated food security Phase Classification (IPC) 4 and 22,500 people are in IPC 5 conditions. At Tuhayta is among the districts classified as IPC 4 with pockets of populations in IPC phase 5 (8,000 people). Solidarités International (SI) has been operational in this governorate since August 2018 and in At Tuhayta district since November 2018 (both in its southernmost sub-district and in Tuhayta town itself). SI is currently expanding its humanitarian intervention to respond to dire needs and cover gaps, especially in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and Food Security and Livelihood (FSL). This emergency response is designed to address one of the most acute needs of At Tuhayta district (Al Hudaydah governorate) population, as assessed by SI teams and other organizations, where needs are dire and only few NGOs are able to intervene and support hard-to-reach populations. Either trapped by the close frontline or made vulnerable because of displacement, the population targeted by this project faces a life-threatening lack of access to food and basic services. To alleviate their suffering and avoid preventable deaths, SI will respond to the needs of the population in the WASH and FSL sectors under the 2019 1st Standard Allocation with two interventions. This specific intervention focuses on improving the access to food for highly vulnerable families (host communities, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), returnees) in risk of malnutrition and/or famine, in line with the Integrated Famine Risk Reduction (IFRR) programming. SI will implement food assistance for 6 months to the same households in order to have a meaningful impact on improving any household’s food security status. Considering the gender gap in Yemen, this project will also closely involve the community during both design and implementation, tailored to the specific needs of the communities, allowing to take into account the specific needs of women and girls especially in terms of adaptability and access to services. The specific vulnerabilities (such as female/elderly headed household, persons with disabilities in the households) are included in the selection criteria for the food assistance, and priority will be given to women, elderly and persons with disabilities during the distributions. In general, the assistance will be provided while paying attention to the context and sociocultural norms, to prevent any unintended negative effects of the intervention and work towards equality, impartiality, accountability and empowerment. This intervention will be integrated with SI WASH intervention under this allocation in At Tuhyata district, providing the communities with WASH services and hygiene promotion sessions, including cooking food safely properly.
Already strongly present in the targeted area, with unique access to the most affected populations and the capacity to adapt to evolving needs, SI will bring its experience to actively contribute to and scale-up the lifesaving humanitarian assistance in this district.
To anticipate and mitigate the risk of potential delays related to obtaining the authorization to implement or to security and/or access issues, the project duration of 12 months consists of a 10-month implementation period, preceded by a 2-month inception and preparation phase.