Growing concern for Yemenis affected by continued rains and flooding
In a general warning, UNICEFUnited Nations Children’s Fund, and United Nations Population FundThe UN sexual and reproductive health agency said rising waters had devastated lives in several Yemeni provinces, particularly in Hudaydah, Hajjah, Sa’ada and Taizz. The northern province of Marib was also affected.
“Homes, shelters and belongings have been swept away,” the UN agencies reported, adding that Within 72 hours of the floods, more than 80,000 people received emergency food rations, toiletries and feminine hygiene products.“These items help alleviate the immediate hardship caused by these catastrophic events,” the UN relief groups said, before warning that more torrential rains – which began in late June – were expected to continue into September.
Dizzying Demand
Today, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Aid, OCHAreports that more than 18.2 million people in Yemen need humanitarian assistance, less than half of the country’s total population.
“The devastating floods have increased the needs of the people, which are huge,” said Enshrah Ahmed, UNFPA Representative in Yemen. Although relief groups are working at full capacity, they remain deeply concerned about the growing scale of the needs and the severe weather forecast. “The coming weeks and months will be crucial to ensure that affected families can get back on their feet and at least restore their lives,” said Ahmed.
Since early August, more than 180,000 people have been affected by flooding and at least 50,000 have been displaced in Hudaydah province alone – a figure that is likely to rise in the coming days, UNICEF and UNFPA warned.
Materials and funding needed
Challenges for relief teams include damaged roads, landmines and unexploded ordnance in frontline and civilian areas. Unseasonably heavy rains have also depleted relief supplies distributed by the UN agency’s Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) teams, who urgently need $4.9 million to scale up the emergency response.
UNFPA and UNICEF note that by 2024, more than 82 percent of people supported by RRM groups will have been severely affected or displaced by climate-related shocks.
“The situation in the flooded areas is dire. UNICEF and partners are on the ground providing emergency assistance to those affected. The role of Rapid Response Teams is crucial in times of distress like this,” said Peter Hawkins, UNICEF Representative in Yemen.
Established in 2018, RRM aims to provide a minimal, emergency package of assistance to save the lives of newly displaced people, those in displaced or hard-to-reach areas during man-made or natural disasters.
Simmering crisis
Even before this latest emergency, the needs in Yemen were already dire and linked to a political, humanitarian and development crisis that has persisted since the uprising began in 2011. The situation escalated into conflict in 2015 involving a Saudi-led coalition on the side of government forces against the Houthi opposition and its allies, but a UN-brokered ceasefire – due to expire in 2022 – has held as peace talks continue. The Houthi rebels, also known as Ansar Allah, have also begun attacking commercial vessels in the Red Sea – a vital route for global trade – after fighting broke out in Gaza last October. There remain deep concerns that fighting could flare up again.
