nlp-thedeep/humsetbias huggingface dataset:
As of 8 August, the number of households displaced to areas covered by the Aden Hub reached 21,543. Newly displaced households were reported from Al Hudaydah  ( Hays and Al Khawkhah ) , Taizz  ( Al Mukha ) , Lahj, Aden and Al Dhale'e governorates. Since 1 June, 4,217 households out of the 5,329 from Al Hudaydah have been registered, and 3,582  ( 84 per cent )  have received rapid response kits. Registration is ongoing in Aden, Lahj and Abyan governorates.
The sharp depreciation of the Yemeni Riyal  ( YER )  against foreign currencies continues to have a severe impact on the socio economic situation and the humanitarian crisis. According to WFP's Market Watch Report, the national monthly average exchange rate in March 2018 stood at 483 YER/USD. The currency has lost its pre crisis value by an average of 225 per cent – meaning that the purchasing power of the YER is below half of what it used to buy three years ago. The exchange rates in several governorates exceeded the national average, with Taizz and Abyan Governorates facing the worst level of depreciation.
Nearly one million consultations were provided including 73,149 to the IDPs in January and February 2018. 69,374 children under the age of one year received Penta 3 vaccine while almost 31,000 deliveries were assisted by skilled birth attendants. Additionally, 4,846 mental health consultations were provided and 4,328 trauma cases related to conflict were treated by the health care providers. More than 1,340 health staff were trained on Minimum Service Package and 300 midwives were trained on BEmONC and CEmONC.
In addition, in late 2017, DFID provided a contribution of GBP 10 million to establish a revolving fuel facility, purchasing over six million litres covering diesel needs for WASH and health activities under WHO and UNICEF. In 2018 thus far, WFP has delivered 191,137 litres while 325,455 litres are in transit.
Displacement has increased significantly in southern governorates. The breakdown of displaced people as of the 31 January indicates a total of 6,697 households displaced since the beginning of December 2017   a 14 per cent increase. Al Hudaydah is producing most of the displaced population  ( 3,307 households, 49 per cent ) .
Between January to August 2018, FSAC partners have assisted an average of 7.4 million individuals with regular monthly emergency food assistance  ( in kind, cash transfers, & voucher transfers ) . By the end of August 2018, a cumulative total of around 1.3 million individuals have also benefited from livelihoods assistance  ( 1.2 million people assisted with rapid emergency agricultural, livestock & fisheries kits; and around 92,000 individuals provided with longer term livelihoods support ) .
Cluster partners have established referral desks at Humanitarian Service Points  ( HSPs )  and at Transit Sites in Al Hudaydah and the Sana'a area to identify vulnerable people, such as unaccompanied or separated children, women and girls at risk, and persons with disabilities, to ensure safe referrals for follow up services.
The major health care needs are life saving minimum service packages at primary and secondary health care facilities, capacity for prevention and control of epidemics and outbreaks, and operational costs including salaries for health workers. There is also a need for sustained delivery of medicines, medical supplies and equipment with reliable pipelines, support to declining vaccination coverage and maintenance of epidemiologic surveillance. Partners face challenges in delivery of health care services due to disrupted health systems, including access restrictions, delays in signing sub agreements and have to encounter multiple entities.
In response to recent reports of increased cholera transmission, health actors are mobilizing rapid response teams, including in Al Hali District, where health actors have confirmed 15 cholera cases since mid July, according to the UN. WHO reports nearly 110,575 suspected cholera cases and 104 associated deaths in Yemen from early January to early August.
Aden: More than 4,800 households were displaced by conflict to Aden and other accessible areas in the southern governorates from 1 June to 1 August. Some 4,217 households have been registered and 3,119 households have received rapid response kits. During the reporting period, partners also discussed demining activities in west coast districts. Meanwhile, the depreciation of the local currency in Aden has led to increased prices of essential commodity prices.
Migrants transiting Yemen are extremely vulnerable during every phase of the journey. IOM is providing life  saving, multi sectoral assistance to stranded migrants in Yemen, including providing an orderly, humane option to those who are willing to return to their country of origin.
Partners in the humanitarian access working group in Aden conducted a mission to Al Qabbaytah District in Lahj Governorate which primarily focused on developing a strategy to address needs of vulnerable populations close to front line areas in Lahj. The mission met IDPs from Al Hudaydah, who are in Ga'ama area and are in desperate need of assistance.
Humanitarian partners have consistently called for respect for civilians and civilian infrastructure, but casualties remain high. Between 26 March 2015 and 10 May 2018, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has documented 16,432 civilian casualties – 6,385 dead and 10,047 injured, the vast majority from airstrikes.
Due to the increase of the fuel and water prices  ( through private trucking ) , public water and sanitation systems are struggling to maintain functional and requiring additional support from partners. Overall, cholera continued to decrease, but 100 districts still reported as priority for cholera in March, which requires continuous large scale cholera response.
Health actors report that almost 30 of the nearly 400 health facilities that provide nutrition services in eight Al Hudaydah districts were temporarily closed due to insecurity from September 11–18. UNICEF and the Al Hudaydah GHO are working to provide services to people affected by the health facility closures.
On August 1, Médecins Sans Frontières  ( MSF )  announced the opening of a 20 bed surgical field hospital in Ta'izz Governorate's city of Mokha to respond to increased medical needs resulting from military operations along Yemen's western coast. More than 70 MSF staff are working in the newly established facility, which is currently providing medical care to people displaced by conflict in Al Hudaydah and Ta'izz. The hospital has the capacity to expand to receive more patients if needed, MSF reports.
Over 380,000 people were vaccinated against cholera in three targeted districts: Al Hali and Al Marawi'ah in Al Hudaydah Governorate, and Hazm Al Udain in Ibb Governorate. The 4 6 August campaign aimed to protect people living in high risk areas against cholera and involved more than 2,800 healthcare workers. More than a million suspected cases of cholera with over 2,000 associated deaths were reported in Yemen from April 2017 to July 2018. Recently, authorities in Sa'ada reported new cases.
With State/PRM support, the International Organization for Migration  ( IOM )  provided health care services  including health promotion sessions, mental health care, and psychosocial support to more than 18,600 IDPs and approximately 480 migrants across Yemen from September 9–15, according to the UN agency.
A nationwide polio immunization campaign was also launched to immunize 5.5 million children under the age of 5 years. Yemen has been polio free since 2006, but children remain vulnerable especially due to the current conflict which has devastated the healthcare system. Both campaigns are implemented by WHO and UNICEF, with support from the World Bank.
In Hadramaut Governorate, the rains cut off some roads and damaged electricity infrastructure. The Shelter/NFI/ CCCM Cluster reported localized damage to houses in Mayfa'a and Brom, near Al Mukalla District. The need for support is being assessed; cluster partners are concerned that floods could further spread cholera in the weeks ahead.
Reported suspected cholera cases have decreased or are stable in most governorates and the weekly proportion of severe cases has significantly reduced. As of 18 March, 132 out of 305 affected districts in 22 governorates had not reported any suspected cases for the third consecutive week. As of 18 March, the cumulative total reported suspected cases since April 2017 were 1,081,420 with 2,267 associated deaths.
Twenty three mobile teams supported by UNICEF and implementing partners continue to provide integrated health and nutrition services in 14 Al Hudaydah districts, the Nutrition Cluster reports. Since January, the mobile teams have provided nutrition services to more than 10,600 children ages five years and younger and nearly 5,000 pregnant and lactating women.
IOM has 1,000 NFI kits and 1,000 emergency shelter kits  ( ESKs )  in the pipeline to be sent to Al Maharah. • IOM has 500 tents, 1000 NFIs, 1000 ESKs in the pipeline to be sent to Hadramaut. • CSSW has warehousing and distribution capacity. • The King Salman Relief Centre is sending 1,500 blankets, 200 mattresses, and 100 tents.
WHO has procured 30 new ambulances for Al Hudaydah to improve early trauma care and transport of patients to health facilities.
As of 14 February, some 115,000 litres of fuel out of the 172,616 litres donated by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have been delivered to 14 out of 26 planned locations as per the breakdown below. The in kind donation will support water and sanitation system, cold chains and health facilities across Yemen.
Data collected by WHO from functioning health facilities indicates that reported deaths and injuries in Yemen's conflict, from 19 March 2015 to 30 April 2018, have reached 9,559 and 55,616 people, respectively. The actual numbers are likely to be much higher.
The major health care needs are life saving minimum service package at all level of health care, capacity for prevention , detection and control of epidemics and outbreaks, and operational costs including incentives for health staff to ensure continuous functioning of health facilities at a desirable capacity. There is also need to sustain delivery of medicines, medical supplies and equipment with reliable pipelines, support to declining vaccination coverage and maintenance of epidemiologic surveillance.
On September 16, UNHCR distributed relief commodities to more than 4,600 new IDPs and provided emergency shelter to approximately 2,100 IDPs in Al Hudaydah's Ad Dali' District through a local NGO. The UN agency also provided emergency cash assistance, totaling more than $4 million, to approximately 140,000 individuals across Yemen in August; due to acute shelter needs, the UN agency disbursed more than 70 percent of the cash assistance in the form of rental subsidies.
As increasing numbers of IDPs in both AsSafya'a and Duba'a Al Dakhel Sub districts indicate that severe needs for general protection assistance, GBV response and Child Protection for more than 70% of the interviewed sample are unprotected.
Through July, our health team has launched the first distribution of free medications, benefiting 613 individuals and provided medical consultations for 721 individuals in addition to the nutrition activities provided in Adeem Hadharim HC of Ash Shamayatayn district, Taizz Gov.
Yemen requires monthly food imports of approximately 350,000 MT for survival, of which humanitarian imports are about 75,000 MT. Close to 80 per cent of imports, including commercial and humanitarian goods enter through the Al Hudaydah and Saleef ports.
WASH Basic Services: Our WASH field team has distributed 1,750 Hygiene Kits to benefit 12,250 beneficiaries disaggregated  ( 5,462 men, 5,661 women, 540 boys, 587 girls )  for most affected families with malnourished cases either children under 5 or Pregnant & Lactating Women  ( PLW )  in Ash Shamayatayn district of Taizz governorate.
In March 2015, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia led Coalition began airstrikes against Al Houthi and allied forces to halt their southward expansion. The ongoing conflict has damaged or destroyed public infrastructure, interrupted essential services, and reduced commercial imports to a fraction of the levels required to sustain the Yemeni population; the country relies on imports for 90 percent of its grain and other food sources.
Children under 5 years old represent 28.7% of total suspected cases. The weekly number of cases reported have been decreasing in the last 21 weeks.
Market data from WFP indicate that cooking gas prices have decreased in most markets, the overall decrease in July was 8.3 percent and 4.2 percent compared to May and June 2018 respectively. Field reports indicate, however, that cooking gas is still in shortage in Al Hudaydah City; it was found in only a few gas stations during the first week of August.
The WASH Cluster supports the operation, maintenance and rehabilitation of affected WASH systems and directly provides WASH services to crisis affected people. An estimated 11 million people in Yemen depend on piped water networks which are often disrupted by insecurity, and 4 million depend on the private water sector. Restoring, operating and maintaining existing water and sanitation systems and infrastructure is a key priority to fight cholera, acute watery diarrhoea and malnutrition.
During the report period, a 7 day needs assessment of migrants and IDPs was carried out in Al Bayda Governorate and Rada'a district. 42 boys, one woman, and 63 men participated in the needs assessment.
An analysis by OCHA shows that administrative restrictions remain among the most prevalent access constraints facing humanitarian actors. These include delays associated with the signing of sub agreements with implementing partners or with the approval of humanitarian activities and movements. Other restrictions include checkpoint searches, interference in humanitarian programmes and violence against humanitarian personnel.
IOM reports that on 4 August, 132 Ethiopian migrants departed from Al Hudaydah through the Voluntary Humanitarian Return  ( VHR )  Programme on their way to Djibouti where IOM will facilitate their return to Ethiopia. A total of 615 migrants of Ethiopian origin has been assisted this year. On 5 August, IOM and UNHCR facilitated the spontaneous return of 116 Somali refugees out of Aden to Somalia. This is the 10th spontaneous return process in 2018 with a total of 1,321 refugees.
 All FGs indicated that the main water source  ( well )  is unprotected.  All FGs indicated that people have issues related to the taste, look, and smell of their main water source for the last 30 days
Widespread violations of IHL by parties to the conflict pose an ongoing threat to the life and safety of civilians, resulting in loss of life, displacement and destruction of infrastructure. The protracted nature of the conflict is particularly affecting women, children and persons with specific needs whose vulnerability is further exacerbated and resort to negative coping mechanisms as means of survival. As grave violations of children's rights continue to occur, support for affected children is critical, as is mine risk education. GBV incidents have significantly risen requiring multi sectoral responses.
According to WHO, nearly a third of reported cholera cases are children under the age of five years, while people over the age of 60 account for the highest percentage of deaths. Although the reported numbers of suspected cases of cholera are decreasing, the outbreak is still being closely monitored, paying close attention to surges in numbers particularly as the rainy season approaches.
The unprecedented drop in the value of the Yemeni currency combined with devaluation will impact on humanitarian programming, according to the Cash and Market Working Group. Since 1 January 2018, the value of the Rial has dropped by 11 per cent in Sana'a compared to two per cent in December 2017, with the latest recorded rate being 505 Rials to the US dollar. This is a 49 per cent drop in the value of the currency from 12 months ago when it was 314 Rials to the dollar. The reduction in value is expected to have a direct impact on household purchasing power, reducing the value of coping mechanisms and pushing some households previously in moderate need into acute need. The depreciation will also have a deflationary impact on the wider economy as household consumption decreases.
Mine Action partners released around 2,736,183 square meters of land through clearance and survey activities in 28 districts across 14 governorates, and removal of 145,412 landmines and ERWs, directly benefiting 426,250 people. 8,079 conflict affected households  ( 56,806 individuals )  were reached with non agricultural livelihoods assistance, 69 households  ( 494 individuals )  with small business recovery and 8,010 households  ( 56,312 individuals )  with emergency employment in 8 governorates. In addition, 1,238 individuals took part in vocational/skills training aimed at improving their livelihoods in 22 districts  ( 11 governorates ) .
Migrants and refugees are in need of life saving, multi sectoral assistance such as food, WASH, health, temporary shelter and direct protection. From January to April 2018, 26,994 migrants and refugees are estimated to have arrived in Yemen, crossing the Red and Arabian Seas.
The ETC continues to provide shared Internet and security telecommunications services in five areas across Yemen. The ETC completed the deployment of solar power solution, Internet services and cabling at five Emergency Operations Centers  ( EOC )  to support WHO. The ETC scored 87 per cent satisfaction rate in its User Feedback survey report which has been published and the network cabling for UN Hadda compound is now complete.
Disruption to the payments of salaries to teachers in 13 governorates continues to jeopardise the provision of education. Displacement is also affecting education systems as teachers and students are displaced and schools are often used by IDPs as shelter. There is an urgent need to support schools in districts with high severity of needs, through school repairs, provision of essential learning supplies, hygiene education, school feeding and other education related support.
348,253 children have benefited from school repairs including rehabilitation of WASH facilities. 11,124 students were provided with school supplies to ensure access to a improved learning environment. Cluster partners supported teachers training benefitting 382,410 teachers. Hygiene education activities reached 80,656 students while 72,074 student were provided with Nutritious snacks. 15,421 students provided with alternative learning classrooms to ensure the continuation of their education.
Migrants and refugees are in need of life saving, multi sectoral assistance such as food, WASH, health, temporary shelter and direct protection. From January to February 2018, 11,267 migrants and refugees are estimated to have arrived in Yemen, crossing the Red and Arabian Seas.
Eight million people need access to emergency income to meet critical food needs and access to services. The sudden escalation of conflict in Al Hudaydah reduces further prospects of socio economic recovery for millions of people around the western coast line. Many livelihoods projects being implemented in Al Hudaydah and Hajjah have been suspended on security grounds, leaving affected communities without social safety net. Landmines and explosive remnants of war continue to pose a threat to lives and prevent the resumption of economic activities, movements of populations and goods as well as access to basic services and infrastructure
Cluster partners reached 29,101 households  ( 188,880 people )  with emergency employment opportunities in 78 districts  ( 16 Governorates ) ; 1,794 households  ( 12,272 individuals )  had access to income generation opportunities through small and micro business recovery and creation in 37 districts  ( 11 Governorates ) . Around 2,738 households  ( 16,947 people )  had at least a member who benefitted from vocational training to equip them with marketable skills for livelihoods and 1,079 individuals from 82 local NGOs received capacity development to enhance their preparedness and response capacities.
During January to April, 161,200 beneficiaries  ( 25,739 HH )  were provided with NFIs in kind distributions and 12,575 beneficiaries  ( 3,856 HH )  with NFIs cash distributions; 43,769 beneficiaries  ( 6,709 HH )  were assisted with in kind for Emergency Shelter Kits  ( ESKs )  and 11,125 beneficiaries  ( 1,922HH )  were assisted with cash for ESKs; 21,100 beneficiaries  ( 2989 HH )  benefited from the support of cash for rental subsidies; 76 families benefited from the reconstruction of their houses; 120 families benefited from the rehabilitation of their houses; and 90 families received new transitional shelter
In 2018 to date, 60,896 children with Severe Acute Malnutrition  ( SAM ) , 98,512 children with Moderate Acute Malnutrition  ( MAM )  and 78,511 pregnant and lactating women  ( PLW )  with acute malnutrition were admitted for treatment. In addition, 107,664 children received micronutrient powders, and 313,278 women received Infant and Young Child Feeding  ( IYCF )  counselling.
The humanitarian community faces a number of critical logistics challenges hampering the delivery of relief items in and across the country, including damaged road infrastructure; access disruptions to many parts of the country for both staff and cargo; congestion at main entry points; unreliable and unpredictable access to fuel; heavy bureaucracy; and limited international shipping options both by sea and air.
During March and April, Health Cluster partners provided over 1.1 million consultations through supported health facilities. Over 30,000 children under the age of one year received Penta 3 vaccine while more than 13,500 deliveries were assisted by skilled birth attendants. Additionally, around 6,400 trauma cases were treated, and 1,494 mental health consultations provided by the health workers. More than 65,000 women received antenatal care. More than 3,000 health staff were trained.
FSAC partners reached an average of 6.8 million people with monthly emergency food assistance  ( relief food, cash transfers, & voucher transfers )  in March and April. Additionally, by the end of April, a cumulative total of 517,906 individuals had received livelihoods assistance  ( emergency agricultural, livestock & fisheries inputs provided to 463,786 people; and longer term livelihoods support to 54,120 individuals ) .
WHO said on Friday a vaccination campaign targeting 2.7 Yemeni children has been completed in 11 governorates.
Nearly 10,000 people have been killed in Yemen since March 2015, when a regional military coalition led by Saudi Arabia intervened with the aim of pushing Al Houthis from Sana'a and restoring the government to power.
More than 2,300 Yemenis have died of cholera and 70 of diphtheria amid deteriorating hygiene and sanitation conditions, the World Health Organisation says.
Aden: Two suicide car bombings against security forces in the southern Yemeni port of Aden killed at least five people Saturday, officials said, in an attack claimed by Daesh.
“Yemeni culture is closed,' Esma Mohammad, a 23 year old member of the association, said at a meeting with journalists at the end of last month on a Saudi organised visit to Marib, east of the Yemeni capital Sana'a.
Half of the Yemeni population live in areas directly affected by war, many of whom are suffering from the deliberate targeting of civilians and other apparent violations of international law, according to the United Nations.
Human Rights Watch accuse Al Houthis of enforced disappearances, torturing detainees and arbitrarily detaining numerous activists, journalists, tribal leaders, and political opponents.
Many of the families interviewed by Bloomberg fled to Marib to escape the violence: Wadah with his brother's three kids, their mother and other relatives. Esma was originally from Sana'a and answered the hotline calls from Marib.
Al Mukalla: Fighter jets from the Saudi led coalition launched massive air strikes against Al Houthi military sites, killing dozens of militiamen as government forces made limited advances on the battlefields. Local media reports have said the heaviest air strikes hit military camps controlled by Al Houthis in the northern province of Dhamar. Al Masdar Online, an independent news site, said there were 17 raids against military sites and recruitment centres in Anes district in the province, which killed and injured dozens of Al Houthis. As many as 13 consecutive strikes were launched on a secret military camp in Dhamar's Bani Soued region. The coalition's fighter jets also destroyed a convoy of military vehicles heading to a battlefield in the central province of Baydha.
On the Red Sea front, fighting intensified outside Al Jarrahi town in the western province of Hodeida as government troops pushed to break across Al Houthi lines around the town. The assault came as military sappers from Yemen and the Saudi led coalition cleared a large swathe of liberated land in Hodeida of landmines and booby traps.
Dozens of Al Houthis, including a field commander called Abu Hamid, were killed in the fighting. Local media reports have recently said Al Houthis made limited advances in Nehim after driving government forces from a number of mountain sides in Nehim. Yemen's Defence Ministry said government forces have expelled the militiamen from those locations and pushed further into Masoura region in Nehim. Despite massive air support and military logistics from the Saudi led coalition, government forces have gotten stuck in a military stalemate in Nehim and have made limited gains on the mountainous battlefield. The forces that reached the outskirts of Sana'a have largely failed to take control of Al Houthis' remaining territory in Nehim.
The Arab Coalition Forces, led by Saudi Arabia, are continuing their humanitarian efforts as part of Operation Restoring Hope in Yemen, with the UAE Armed Forces providing aid to those in need in liberated areas.
MOCHA   The Emirates Red Crescent  ( ERC ) , with support from the UAE Armed Forces, distributed thousands of food baskets to the residents of the Mocha district in the Taiz Governorate on Yemen's Red Sea Coast, after its liberation from the Iran backed Al Houthi militias.
Yemen's Ministry of Defence said Al Houthis had dispatched death squads to the Nehim battlefield to block government forces, and slow their advance towards Sana'a. Brigadier General Abdullah Mazeb, a senior commander on Nehim front, said dozens of men from the death squads had been killed along the Nehim mountain range in clashes with government forces or by Saudi led coalition fighter jets. He also said the militia left the bodies to rot. “The national army forces have killed dozens of Al Houthi militia operatives and seized weapons at different locations in Nehim, mainly Al Zelzal mountain,' Mazeb said in a brief interview with the ministry's official news site, 26sepnews.net, adding that government forces had liberated the Al Zelzal mountain, and escalated attacks on Al Houthis along other hillsides that overlook Arhab district.
The New York City, San Francisco, Chicago and Buffalo, New York, areas also have Yemeni communities. About 43,000 people of Yemeni ancestry are in the US according to a 2015 census survey. However, advocates say the number is much higher because of historical undercounting, and has significantly increased since that last survey because of deteriorating conditions in Yemen, which fell into chaos following its 2011 Arab Spring uprising that removed longtime ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Hostilities on frontlines continued to result in new displacement. Intense fighting in the districts of Al Khawkhah, Al Garrahi and Hays in southern Hudaydah, and Mokha and Mawza in Taizz, have forced families to flee. Speaking to UNHCR during protection monitoring and distribution missions, IDPs described their struggle with lack of work opportunities, restricted access to food, inadequate accommodation with entire families sheltering in one room or in overcrowded collective shelters. Despite now feeling safe from bombardment, families spoke of the overwhelming disappointment of leaving everything behind. UNHCR has also observed a rise in psychological distress as war takes its toll on Yemen's population, with a lack of specialized services further exposing those displaced to increasing vulnerability and harm.
In response to new displacement, UNHCR continued its outreach and emergency response activities. UNHCR field teams completed a distribution in Al Garrahi district, in southern Hudaydah reaching 3,514 individuals with essential household items and emergency shelter kits. The Al Garrahi area, in close proximity to frontlines, has received 1,700 IDP families, mainly from surrounding villages of Al Hays and Al Khowkha since December 2017. Soaring needs have been observed among the new arrivals, including for urgent medical attention, food and potable water. In Abyan Governorate, where the number of newly displaced climbed to over 21,600 individuals in recent months, UNHCR CRI assistance reached 5,710 IDPs displaced in Khanfir district and a further 2,540 IDPs in Zunjibar district.
With 89 percent of IDPs displaced for more than one year and amid severe economic decline, IDPs are facing increasing protection risks. The lack of support for basic services coupled with decreasing resources has impacted acutely on vulnerable displaced populations, including those living in public buildings, collective centres and spontaneous settlements. Protection monitoring is a core activity for UNHCR, reaching over 220,000 people in 2017, and constitutes the backbone of the IDP protection response for 2018. A number of initiatives aimed at strengthening the protection response were launched in 2017 and continue this year, including the harmonization of the protection monitoring tool to ensure consistent assessments of protection risks and individual vulnerabilities through a combination of household level assessments and focus group discussions. Furthermore, the reinforcing of UNHCR's 31 Community Based Protection Networks  ( CBPNs )  has: enhanced community participation and engagement in identification of protection risks, strengthened IDPs' own capacities to address these risks, as well as helped to develop the common protection service directory for facilitating referrals.
On the last day of a visit by the Saudi crown prince, Britain approved the sale of 48 highly advanced fighter jets to Saudi Arabia on Friday, brushing aside calls for an embargo over the kingdom's role in Yemen's civil war. Human rights and arms control groups have mounted a publicity campaign and protests to stop the sale of British arms to Saudi Arabia, alleging that they are used in Yemen to kill innocent civilians.
The number of new IDPs to southern governorates doubled in the past month, as families fled an upsurge in hostilities on frontlines in Taizz and southern Hudaydah. While the rate of this increase has now slowed, UNHCR expects the number to continue to rise. Many remain trapped in frontline areas, including Al Mokha and Hays. A significant number of female headed households, representing an excessively vulnerable group, have arrived in the south, requiring health assistance, core relief, cash as well as counselling or referrals for those at risk / subjected to sexual and gender based violence  ( SGBV ) .
Yemen has been divided into multiple zones of territorial control and influence that go far beyond big picture narratives of an Iran backed Houthi Saleh alliance  ( now just the Houthis )  against the rest of Yemen, united under President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi and backed by the Saudi led coalition. U.N. negotiation efforts have also been structured around this false dichotomy.
Yemen war escalates with no end in sight Almost three years of civil war in Yemen is forcing huge numbers of people from their homes. Activists say in the past few months alone, fighting in northwestern areas has displaced more than half a million people. And there are no signs of the war ending.
"To feed the 7 million people suffering severe famine, we need this kind of access on a regular basis, as we had before November 5," Etefa said. "We are hoping that commercial ships carrying food will also be allowed access to Yemen's ports soon, as the country imports 90% of its food and this is the only way to end the famine."
ERC distributes thousands of school bags to students in Khawkhah, Yemen KHAWKHAH, 13th February, 2018  ( WAM )     Supported by the UAE Armed Forces, Emirates Red Crescent, ERC, teams have distributed thousands of school bags and equipment to students in Khawkhah District on the Red Sea Coast of Yemen, as part of the UAE's humanitarian and rescue programmes for the Yemeni people and its support for the education system, to help students continue their education and improve their results.
The rebuilding of local schools is a fundamental pillar of supporting the country's education system. The ERC restored 185 schools by the end of 2017 in Aden, Lahej, Dhala and Taiz, and constructed 21 schools in the districts of Aden, and distributed 8,500 double school chairs, and 2,424 computers over two phases, and installed 190 air conditioners. It also provided 12 buses and equipment transport vehicles, 1,000 blackboards to Lahej Governorate, and 255 water coolers for schools. Some 5,133 students returned to their nurseries, 13,8078 to elementary education, and 26,403 to secondary education.
Abdulaziz Al Jabri, head of the ERC team in Hadramout, said that the campaign aims to improve the living conditions of individuals by providing them with basic humanitarian, relief and development assistance. He said that the food aid campaign aims to alleviate the severe conditions experienced as a result of food shortages, and help improve the lives of individuals suffering from adverse humanitarian and economic conditions.
On 26 February, MT Celesta carrying 5 million litres of diesel procured by WFP berthed in Hodeidah; discharging of the diesel was completed the following day. In addition, WFP is procuring 1.5 million litres of diesel in Aden. The Logistics Cluster will disburse this fuel to humanitarian organisations on a cost recovery basis, to keep critical infrastructure  ( e.g. water and sanitation systems and hospital generators )  working in major cities across Yemen, as well as to allow day to day operations of humanitarian organisations. Distributions are expected to being in the first week of March, once custom clearance is completed.
According to the latest Humanitarian Needs Overview for Yemen, more than 5.4 million people require assistance with shelter, core relief items  ( CRIs )  and in collective centres. An escalation of hostilities in late 2017 resulted in new displacement, precluded safe return and increased demands on UNHCR's emergency response capacity, with more than two million people displaced. Protection space for 280,000 refugees and asylum seekers also continues to shrink, resulting in severe protection gaps. Refugees are at heightened risk of exploitation in the absence of livelihood opportunities and increasing aid dependency.
With 89 per cent of IDPs displaced for more than one year and amid severe economic decline, they and local communities are rapidly exhausting reserves to meet their needs. The lack of support for basic services see those particularly vulnerable, including those living in public buildings, collective centres or spontaneous settlements, increasingly face protection risks.
Without adequate support and provision of financial support, emergency shelter kits and CRIs, the most vulnerable IDPs living in collective centres, public buildings, spontaneous settlements and makeshift shelters are enduring deteriorating conditions, exposed to increased protection risks. A lack of funding will also further impact on UNHCR's preparedness capacity to reach newly displaced populations with life saving assistance, and could lead to death or negative coping strategies.
Yemen is experiencing a serious protection crisis as all civilian populations, including persons of concern, face grave risks to their safety, well being and human rights. A lack of financial support will translate into a lack of capacity to monitor and advocate for the protection of refugees and asylum seekers.
The closure of schools due to lack of funding, will hold back a generation of refugee children for achieving their potential, with a lasting impact for a generation to come. Further, the lack of specialised services for persons with disabilities and for those with psychosocial challenges are resulting in a further deterioration of their conditions, increasing vulnerability and exposure to harm.
Britain called on Iran to stop taking actions which could escalate the conflict in Yemen after a United Nations group of experts found that missiles and military equipment of Iranian origin were introduced into Yemen after an arms embargo.
January 2018 MSF's current activities in Yemen MSF is in Yemen to support the Yemeni populations affected by the conflict on all sides of the frontlines. We work in 13 hospitals and health centres and provide support to more than 20 hospitals or health centres across 11 Yemeni governorates: Taiz, Aden, Ad Dhale, Sa'ada, Amran, Hajjah, Ibb, Sana'a, Abyan, Shabwa and Lahj.
Key figures Population: 27.4 million  ( OCHA )  An estimated 22.2 million in need of humanitarian or protection support  ( OCHA )  17 million people food insecure  ( OCHA )  14.8 million people in need of basic healthcare  ( OCHA )  An estimated 4.5 million children and pregnant or lactating women are acutely malnourished  ( OCHA )  2.9 million of internally displaced people and returnees  ( OCHA )  1,900 out of 3,507 health facilities in 16 governorates are either non functional or partially functioning  ( WHO )  9,245 conflict related civilians deaths and 52,807 injuries  ( WHO – 12/17 )
Much more humanitarian assistance is needed in Yemen – the war is increasing the population's needs; MSF and the other limited number of organisations on the ground can't respond to them alone. The collapse of the health system will continue without adequate and immediate support and could lead to a resurgence of cholera , the spread of other epidemics such as diphtheria and measles , as well as growing rate of malnutrition and growing difficulties to treat non communicable diseases and dialysis patients. The non payment of civil servants' salaries by the government since August 2016 remains a key issue especially in the health sector. Health facilities lack qualified staffs who often seek other income opportunities.
Residents said the explosions damaged the main road linking the capital Sanaa and the northern province of Saada, where the Houthi tribe which controls much of northern Yemen comes from.
A Saudi Arabia led coalition intervened in Yemen's civil war in 2015, backing government forces fighting Iran allied Houthi rebels. Yemen, which relies heavily on imports for food, is on the brink of famine and nearly 1 million people have been infected with cholera.
“We understand that passengers on the boat had been dropped into deep water and forced to swim to shore. No bodies have been recovered but 22 remain unaccounted for,' Millman told a regular U.N. briefing in Geneva. He gave no further details of the incident.
Twenty two Ethiopian migrants are missing after being dumped in the sea off Yemen, the U.N. International Organization for Migration  ( IOM )  said on Friday. IOM spokesman Joel Millman said the missing people were on one of four boats that brought 602 Ethiopian men and women to the coast of Yemen's Shabwa governorate in the past 24 hours.
“During almost three years of Yemen's conflict, all parties have flagrantly flouted international law. Civilian lives have been devastated by indiscriminate bombing and shelling, arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances and a spiralling humanitarian crisis that has made more than 22 million people reliant on aid to survive.
“This heart breaking tragedy underscores, yet again, just how devastating Yemen's conflict continues to be for civilians. Amid ongoing hostilities and crushing restrictions imposed by the Saudi Arabia led coalition, many people who came to Yemen to flee conflict and repression elsewhere are now being forced yet again to flee in search of safety. Some are dying in the process.
“The international community must halt arms transfers that could be used in the conflict, cooperate to ensure accountability for war crimes and other serious violations, and pressure the Saudi Arabia led coalition to fully lift the restrictions on aid and commercial imports of essential goods which are exacerbating one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.'
In a report published earlier this month, UNHCR stated that there are 2,014,026 internally displaced persons in Yemen, while an estimated 1,457 families have been forced to flee since December due to the latest escalation in western Yemen. There are currently more than 280,000 refugees and asylum seekers from other countries in Yemen.
Education has been disrupted and two million children are out of school. The discontinuation of the payment of teacher salaries has created an education crisis, risking a generation of illiterate children if no mitigation measures are put in place. UNICEF reports that between March 2015 and November 2017, out of 16,000 schools, around 256 schools were reportedly destroyed, 1,413 schools were partially damaged due to airstrikes or shelling while 150 schools were occupied by IDPs and 23 by armed groups. Teachers across the country have not been regularly paid salaries for more than a year.
In most areas of Yemen, WASH systems have been severely disrupted due to shortages of fuel to power them or lack of maintenance by public institutions. As a result, an estimated 16 million people need assistance to access to safe water, basic sanitation and hygiene facilities. Inadequate access to water and proper sanitation contributed to a spike of more than one million suspected cholera cases reported in 2017. In terms of shelter, an estimated 5.4 million people need emergency shelter or essential household items, including IDPs, host communities and initial returnees.
Vulnerable areas where the risk of famine, disease outbreak and protracted displacement for IDPs, returnees and host communities converge will be prioritised through an integrated response to address humanitarian needs in a more effective and sustainable manner. Additionally, the 2018 Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan's  ( YHRP )  strategy is to work with national institutions to prevent their collapse, support resilience and livelihoods, and ensure the humanitarian development continuum. The priority is to strengthen partnerships between national and international partners and systematically engage in capacity building. Currently, 153 humanitarian partners are working in Yemen including 109 national NGOs, 36 international NGOs and eight UN agencies.
In early November, maritime port access into Yemen was severely restricted by a blockade of all of Yemen's ports. Most restrictions on commercial imports into Al Hudaydah and Salif, two key entry points for imports of food and fuel, were lifted for a period of 30 days starting in mid December. On January 19, an extension to keep these ports open for another 30 days was announced, which is set to expire in mid February. Sustained throughput of essential commodities through Al Hudaydah and Salif is critical for ensuring sufficient supply of essential commodities, such as fuel, staple foods, water, and medical supplies, as the potential for alternative ports and overland trade to fulfill national needs is extremely low.
Yemen faces a risk of Famine  ( IPC Phase 5 )  given the potential for the recent blockade to resume and drastically limit crucial imports over a prolonged period. A blockade starting in November 2017 severely restricted imports of essential goods, and the temporary re opening of key ports is set to expire in mid February. Prior to the blockade, Yemen already faced the largest food security emergency in the world, with more than 15 million people facing Crisis  ( IPC Phase 3 )  and Emergency  ( IPC Phase 4 )  acute food insecurity and in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
During the more than one month closure of Yemen's Red Sea ports in November, fuel imports declined and prices increased sharply, while wheat flour prices increased modestly  ( Figure 1 )  and remained above pre conflict levels. In early February 2018, WFP reported that stocks of staple cereals  ( including wheat grain, wheat flour, and rice )  in Yemen totaled approximately 784,000 MT, 30 percent lower than levels reported in the Food Security and Agriculture Cluster's Food Availability Brief from November 1, 2017, prior to the blockade. Meanwhile, ongoing depreciation of the Yemeni Rial, despite Saudi Arabia's announcement that it will inject 2 billion USD into the Central Bank of Yemen in Aden, could make future imports more costly and lead to further price increases.
The status of future imports is not the only driver of concern for extreme levels of acute food insecurity and malnutrition in Yemen. Additional factors include increased conflict, significantly reduced economic activity leading to low household income and purchasing power, and the ongoing diphtheria and cholera outbreaks. Even in the absence of additional disruptions, FEWS NET expects large areas of the country to remain in Crisis  ( IPC Phase 3! )  as large scale provision of food assistance to 6 8 million people each month prevents a deterioration to worse levels. However, large populations within these areas will continue to face Emergency  ( IPC Phase 4 )  outcomes as emergency food assistance likely covers less than half of those in need. Food security for some populations may deteriorate to Catastrophe  ( IPC Phase 5 )  as they begin to face an extreme lack of food and other basic needs.
The approaching expiration of a 30 day extension to the re opening of Al Hudaydah and Salif ports remains a concern for driving a further deterioration of the ongoing food security emergency in Yemen. Should the Red Sea ports close for a prolonged period of time, severe constraints on fuel and food availability would accelerate sharp increases in fuel and staple food prices , while the lack of imported medical supplies would jeopardize treatment options for life  threatening illness. In this scenario, high levels of excess mortality would occur due to the lack of food and to disease outbreaks. Famine would likely appear first in areas that are heavily reliant on maritime imports from Al Hudaydah and Salif for staple food supply, those areas with large IDP populations, areas where trade flows are highly constrained by active conflict, and/or areas where levels of acute malnutrition are highest. Sustained imports of essential commodities are needed to reduce the risk of Famine  ( IPC Phase 5 )  in 2018.
Cash for Work  ( CFW ) : Our EFSVL team distributed tools and items to all 821 CFW workers  ( 28% women, 72% men )  who were divided into 45 groups based on their work design needs. CFW workers worked from 15th to 31st of January 2018 to meet the actual 15 days of work in different activities as planned tasks in targeted areas.
Conditional Cash for Work  ( CFW )  And Unconditional Cash Transfer Grants  ( UCT ) : Our EFSVL team completed the identification, data collection and verification procedures for CFW and UCT humanitarian interventions for 7,164 HHs of 50,148 individuals in Abs and Al Zuhrah districts to start the payment process in February 2018.
Four mobile cranes were installed in Hudaydah port to replace the five cranes which were destroyed on 18 Aug 20157 to enhance the capacity of the port in handling goods from the ships. The UN announced the largest ever allocation by the Central Emergency Response Fund  ( CERF )  – $50 million – to rapidly bolster the humanitarian response in Yemen
According to the 2018 Humanitarian Needs Overview  ( HNO ) , an estimated 22.2 million people, equivalent to 75 per cent of the population, are in need of some kind of humanitarian or protection assistance, including 11.3 million who are in acute need   an increase of more than one million people since June 2017. The most severe needs are in areas of ongoing conflict or areas with large numbers of IDPs and returnees.