Yemen - IOM has launched a regional appeal for USD 149.96 million as the situation in Yemen continues to deteriorate since fighting escalated in late March 2015.

The recent escalation has exacerbated an already precarious humanitarian crisis characterized by widespread poverty, indiscriminate violence, human rights violations and open conflict. As recently as July 2016, 82 percent (21.2 million individuals) of the population in Yemen, including 2.2 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), were in need of humanitarian assistance.

The UN estimates that more than 10,000 conflict-related deaths have occurred since the start of the conflict. Internal displacement reflects the indiscriminate characteristics of the conflict and IDPs are sheltering in abandoned buildings, informal settlements or in hosted accommodation across Yemen’s 22 governorates.

As the conflict has significantly affected Yemen’s neighbours, IOM’s appeal to the international community also covers Djibouti, Ethiopia and Somalia.

The funds will enable IOM to further provide multi-sectorial humanitarian assistance in the areas of health; protection; water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH); shelter, camp coordination and camp management (CCCM); non-food relief items (NFIs) and livelihoods.

IOM Director General William Lacy Swing expressed his deep concern: “The situation in Yemen continues to further deteriorate daily. Millions are internally displaced and desperately need food, clean water and medicines. Thousands of civilians have been killed or injured,” he said.

“I call upon all sides in this conflict and the international community to find a solution urgently to end this deadly conflict. At this very moment, however, the international community must provide desperately needed humanitarian assistance and help alleviate the suffering of the millions caught up in the fighting,” he added.

Ambassador Swing also reiterated previous calls to all sides in the conflict to allow humanitarian access to the areas hardest hit by the fighting and where most of the internally displaced are located.

A significant factor in the ongoing conflict has been that Yemen has remained a transit country for thousands of migrants seeking better economic opportunities in the Arabian Peninsula.

Each month, an estimated 10,000 migrants enter Yemen irregularly, only to find themselves trapped by the fighting. On reaching Yemen, the majority of migrants are exploited and abused by violent criminal networks. Recent developments have also included the detention of thousands of migrants and their expulsion from Yemen to Djibouti.

Migrants in Yemen lack life-saving support, including medical support, shelter, food, water and essential household items.

During 2016, an estimated 100,000 migrants are expected to come to Yemen. Djibouti has become the epicenter of these complex, bi-directional migratory flows across the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

Migrants are predominantly men, women, and children escaping political instability, environmental degradation and limited economic prospects.

Based on past trends, most migrants originate from Ethiopia and Somalia, and are mainly between the ages of 15 and 30. Of this, approximately 20 percent are unaccompanied children. It is estimated that around 300 migrants transit Djibouti hoping to reach Yemen every day.

To download the appeal please go to: http://www.iom.int/sites/default/files/country_appeal/file/Revised-IOM-Regional-Appeal-for-Yemen-Crisis-26-Oct-2016.pdf

For further information please contact:
Lalini Veerassamy at IOM Djibouti, Tel: +253.77.31.18.11, Email: lveerassamy@iom.int
Maureen Achieng at IOM Ethiopia, Tel: +251 911 517 652, Email: machieng@iom.int
Gerard Waite at IOM Somalia, Tel: +254 734 444022 Email: gwaite@iom.int
Laurent De Boeck at IOM Yemen, Tel. + 967 736 777 915, Email: ldeboeck@iom.int