Yemen: IOM Seeks Funding to Assist Five Million People as Situation in Ma’rib Deteriorates

With over 10,500 people recentlyfleeing areas inMa’rib,where fighting has intensified inthe last fewweeks, IOM will dedicate at least one-third ofitsrequestedfundstolife-saving assistance fordisplaced people, migrants and local communitiesaffected by theMa’ribcrisis.

In asituation characterized by escalating conflict and displacement, a declining economyand the breakdown of public institutions,itis projected that people in Yemen will experience alarming levels of acute malnutrition and food insecurity throughout this year. Today, governments from around the world will come together to reaffirm their commitment to Yemen and pledge financial contributions to the humanitarian response.

“IOM, alongside our humanitarian partners, is concerned about the serious impact that prolonged funding shortages will have on the ability of displaced people, migrants and other vulnerable populations to survive the looming famine, ongoing pandemic and escalating conflict,”saidAntónio Vitorino, the IOM Director Generalatthe Pledging Conference, which is co-hosted by the Governments of Sweden and Switzerland.

“The already staggeringneedsin Yemen have been compounded by the threat of a second wave of COVID-19 and the re-escalation of conflict inMa’rib, which has led tothedisplacement of the most vulnerable families,” addedVitorino.

The UN estimates that roughlyfourmillion people are currently displaced in Yemenand most displaced people do not haveenough access to safe shelter, clean water or health care.

A large portion of thedisplaced are living inMa’ribgovernorate,where the recent escalations in hostilities aremostlyimpacting those already living in displacement. At least three displacement sites have been emptiedafterbeing directly impacted by the fighting anda majority offamilies arebecomingdisplaced for the third time or more.

“UN data for 2021 shows record levels of acute food insecurity, raising major concerns on the impact of hunger on particularly vulnerable groups, especially internally displaced people and migrants,many of whom remain stranded in Yemen with little access to assistance or resources,” added Vitorino.

Despitethereduction innumbers of migrants arriving in Yemen in 2020 —down to over 37,500 from 138,000 in 2019—the dangers faced by migrants have increased. Thousands of migrants are stranded across the country,unable to continue their journeys or return home. Most are sleeping rough on the streets with virtually no access to clean water, food or health care. They alsoface the risk of abuse, exploitation and detention.

In 2020, IOM scaled up assistance to stranded migrants in Yemen, while advocating for the resumption of its Voluntary Humanitarian Returnprogrammeto Ethiopia, as an immediate life-saving measure.

“With over 24 million people still in need of some form of assistance,greater resources are required to respond effectively to growing and complex needs. Funding shortages had real consequences in 2020,which were particularly hard felt in cities like Aden andMa’ribwhich host thousands of migrants and displaced people in dire need of support and with already limited access to services,” saidVitorino.

“While an immediate humanitarian response remainscriticalin Yemen, IOM continues to advocate for a lasting peaceful resolution to the conflict. This is most urgent inMa’ribgovernorate,wherefighting continues to worsen needs on the ground, putting the lives of hundreds of thousands of people at heightened risk."

IOM is appealing for USD 170 million to support more than 5.1 million peopleacross the country, including displaced people, migrants and the communities that hostthem, bythe end of 2021. IOM’s activities are being implementedinthe following sectors: health, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), shelter and non-food items (S-NFIs), camp coordination and camp management (CCCM), transition and recovery, protection, migrant assistance as well as coordination and safety (IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix) and common humanitarian services (humanitarian hub).

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Yemen: IOM Seeks Funding to Assist Five Million People as Situation in Ma’rib Deteriorates

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