January 12, 2017

Highlights

First commercial ships arrive at Al Hudaydah Port since November 6 port closures

Diphtheria outbreak nears 600 suspected cases as of December 31

Escalated violence in December results in at least 245 civilian deaths, displaces 25,000 people in western Yemen

Key Developments

On December 20, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)-led Coalition announced it would reopen access to Yemen’s Al Hudaydah Port for commercial shipments, including fuel, for a 30-day period. The Coalition had closed Yemen’s Red Sea ports, including Al Hudaydah and Al Saleef, on November 6 after the KSA intercepted a missile launched by Al Houthi forces toward the KSA’s capital city of Riyadh. Since the announcement, the Coalition’s Evacuation and Humanitarian Operations Cell (EHOC) has allowed several commercial food and fuel ships to enter the Red Sea ports. The shipments will provide much-needed supplies amid severe fuel shortages and widespread food insecurity.

UN Under-Secretary-General and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock and UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator (RC/HC) for Yemen Jamie McGoldrick recently released statements welcoming food and fuel imports into Yemen’s Red Sea ports. The UN officials emphasized the importance of all ports remaining open to humanitarian and commercial vessels, as Yemenis are critically dependent on imports, and humanitarian assistance is often shipped into Yemen on commercial vessels.

Civilian casualties surged in late December due to ongoing conflict; Coalition airstrikes resulted in at least 245 civilian deaths and at least 160 injuries from December 6–28, according to the UN. In addition, escalated violence in December prompted approximately 25,000 people to flee frontline areas of conflict in western Yemen’s Al Hudaydah and Ta’izz governorates to neighboring governorates.

In addition to a widespread cholera outbreak, Yemen continues to face its first major outbreak of diphtheria—a preventable, highly infectious respiratory disease—in more than 25 years, with more than 580 suspected cases recorded between mid-August and late December.

ACCESS CONSTRAINTS

On December 20, the KSA-led Coalition announced it would allow commercial shipments, including fuel, into Al Hudaydah Port for a 30-day period. The Coalition commended improved security inspection measures designed to prevent weapons smuggling through the port, and also reiterated its request for additional inspection and verification mechanisms. The White House and USAID released statements on December 21 supporting the Coalition’s announcement to allow commercial goods to enter Al Hudaydah Port.

Since December 20, several food and fuel ships have offloaded supplies at Al Hudaydah and Al Saleef ports, and EHOC had cleared at least a dozen additional ships to enter the Red Sea ports as of January 8, the UN reports. Al Hudaydah and Al Saleef accommodate approximately 80 percent of Yemen’s imports and primarily serve Yemen’s northern governorates, where the majority of humanitarian needs are concentrated. The UN continues to advocate for unfettered access for commercial and humanitarian shipments through all Yemeni ports, including in a January 11 statement by RC/HC McGoldrick and a December 29 joint statement by UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN World Health Organization (WHO), and the UN World Food Program (WFP).

The November 6 port closures delayed commercial and humanitarian shipments, increased commodity and fuel prices, and limited humanitarian assistance deliveries. From November 6 to December 18, more than 40 Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) shipments containing emergency relief items, such as blankets and plastic tarpaulins sufficient to assist more than 20,000 households, were redirected from Yemen’s Red Sea ports to southern Yemen’s Aden Port due to the port closures. As a result, UNHCR was forced to transport the commodities overland to reach northern governorates, increasing costs and adding one-to-three weeks to standard delivery times from Red Sea ports. In addition, port closure price fluctuations hindered local shelter material production, delaying UNHCR shelter interventions for internally displaced persons (IDPs), the UN agency reports.

DISPLACEMENT AND INSECURITY

Fighting between Al Houthi and KSA-led Coalition forces intensified in Al Hudaydah and Ta’izz on December 14, prompting more than 1,400 people to flee to areas of Lahij Governorate and southern Ta’izz, according to UNHCR. Violence continued to escalate in late December, prompting an estimated 23,600 people to evacuate frontline areas in Al Hudaydah and Ta’izz from December 19–31. Nearly 3,000 individuals fled north toward Al Hudaydah city, while an estimated 6,600 people fled east to Dhamar and Ibb governorates, and approximately 14,000 people sought shelter in Yemen’s southern Abyan, Aden, and Lahij governorates, UNHCR reports. As an initial response, the UN agency is providing essential household items and hygiene kits to approximately 3,000 people in Al Hudaydah and core relief items to approximately 300 people near Aden city.

Civilian casualties have surged in recent weeks as a result of ongoing conflict. From December 6–28, Coalition airstrikes killed at least 245 civilians and injured at least 160 civilians in several governorates, the UN reports. These casualties are in addition to the 234 civilian deaths and more than 400 injuries that resulted from ground fighting between Al Houthi and General People’s Congress forces in Yemen’s capital city of Sana’a and subsequent Coalition airstrikes throughout northern Yemen from December 1–6, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross. Furthermore, a failed missile test by Al Houthi forces resulted in 10 deaths in Sana’a on December 25.

In a December 28 statement, RC/HC McGoldrick decried the increasing number of civilian casualties and reminded parties to the conflict to abide by international humanitarian law and not target civilians or civilian infrastructure.

HEALTH AND WASH

Delayed and restricted humanitarian and commercial imports—particularly food, fuel, and medical supplies—resulting from the November 6 port closures have adversely affected health and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) relief operations, as fuel shortages caused fuel-reliant water and sanitation systems to shut down in at least five major cities. Despite these constraints, humanitarian actors and U.S. Government (USG) partners continue to conduct cholera and diphtheria response activities, such as health and hygiene promotion, water trucking services to provide safe drinking water, and medical supply deliveries across Yemen.

Health actors recorded more than 580 suspected cases of diphtheria and 48 associated deaths from August 13 to December 31, according to WHO. Health actors recorded the majority of cases—approximately 62 percent—in Al Hudaydah and Ibb. Children ages five years and younger represented nearly 20 percent of the suspected cases countrywide. WHO has warned there is a high risk of further diphtheria transmission due to damaged health centers and disrupted and overwhelmed health services in Yemen. In response to the country’s first major diphtheria outbreak in more than 25 years, the Republic of Yemen Government (RoYG) Ministry of Public Health and Population, UNICEF, and WHO recently activated a diphtheria task force and an Emergency Operations Center to coordinate and implement diphtheria response activities.

Health actors recorded more than 1,031,500 suspected cholera cases and 2,243 related deaths between April 27 and January 11, representing a countrywide case fatality rate of 0.22 percent, WHO reports. The number of new suspected cholera cases recorded per week continues to decline. As of early January, relief organizations were supporting nearly 210 cholera treatment centers (CTCs) with the capacity to treat more than 3,200 patients, and approximately 900 oral rehydration centers (ORCs).

Community health volunteers trained by a USAID/OFDA partner treated nearly 1,700 suspected cholera cases and disseminated health awareness messages to more than 31,400 people from November 28–December 10. During the same period, the partner delivered 156,000 liters of safe drinking water to 13 CTCs in four districts of Sana’a Governorate and provided water trucking services to six health facilities in Ibb and Ta’izz, reaching more than 1,100 people.

From December 16–31, a USAID/OFDA partner distributed more than 9,800 cholera supplies—including cleaning materials, medical items, and water containers—to support 50 ORCs in Al Mahwit Governorate and 10 ORCs in Sana’a. The USAID/OFDA partner also educated more than 170 community members on cholera response activities and hygiene promotion in Al Mahwit.

UNICEF completed a national poliovirus vaccination campaign in November, reaching 4.4 million children ages five years and younger countrywide. In coordination with the vaccination campaign, health partners screened approximately 3.2 million children for malnutrition and referred nearly 300,000 acute malnutrition cases for treatment, according to UNICEF.

WHO delivered more than 70 metric tons (MT) of medicines and surgical supplies—including trauma kits sufficient to meet the needs of 2,000 patients—to Sana’a on December 21. During the same week, two WHO planes delivered 26 MT of emergency health kits to Sana’a for onward distribution to medical centers.

FOOD SECURITY

While the temporary re-opening of Al Hudaydah Port to commercial imports has improved the availability of food and fuel in Yemeni markets, many Yemenis cannot afford to purchase these goods due to the devastating macroeconomic effects of the war and the continued devaluation of the Yemeni riyal. Furthermore, ongoing clearance delays at Yemen’s ports continue to threaten the country’s food security outlook, as the ports’ ability to function at full capacity is critical to meeting Yemen’s food needs, according to WFP. Maintaining the open flow of essential goods through both humanitarian and commercial shipments is critical to avoid further deteriorating food security conditions, according to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET).

Despite import restrictions and insecurity, USAID/FFP partner WFP reached more than 6.4 million people with emergency food assistance in December, including approximately 5.8 million people with in-kind food assistance and nearly 600,000 people with food vouchers. WFP supports Yemen’s most severely food-insecure individuals through food voucher distributions and more than 1.2 million MT of in-kind food assistance each month.

OTHER HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE

In late December, international donors announced nearly $71 million in additional support for the humanitarian response in Yemen. The Government of the United Kingdom pledged approximately $67 million to support WFP emergency food assistance distributions, food voucher programs, and fuel procurement and distribution in major cities. The Government of Finland announced approximately $3 million in funding for UNHCR and WFP, while the Government of the Republic of Ireland announced $600,000 in additional support for emergency response activities in Yemen.

As of January 12, the 2017 Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan had received approximately $1.6 billion, or more than 70 percent of the total $2.3 billion requested.

PUBLIC DONATION INFORMATION

The most effective way people can assist relief efforts is by making cash contributions to humanitarian organizations that are conducting relief operations. A list of humanitarian organizations that are accepting cash donations for disaster responses around the world can be found at www.interaction.org.

USAID encourages cash donations because they allow aid professionals to procure the exact items needed (often in the affected region); reduce the burden on scarce resources (such as transportation routes, staff time, and warehouse space); can be transferred very quickly and without transportation costs; support the economy of the disaster-stricken region; and ensure culturally, dietary, and environmentally appropriate assistance.

More information can be found at:
- USAID Center for International Disaster Information: www.cidi.org or +1.202.821.1999.
- Information on relief activities of the humanitarian community can be found at www.reliefweb.int.