Humanitarians

Aden – A USD 20 million agreement the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) signed today will provide more than 150,000 people in Yemen with shelter relief and clean water, hygiene and sanitation (WASH) support.

Two new projects – USD 15 million for shelter and USD 5 million for WASH services – will target people affected by crisis in Ma’rib, Ta’iz and Al Hodeidah governorates, where tens of thousands of people were displaced last year.

In 2021, at least 7.3 million people in Yemen needed shelter and household items and 15.4 million people required WASH support. Although humanitarian organizations expanded the response in some critical areas, the outlook for 2022 is very concerning amid rising displacement and ongoing conflict.

The humanitarian and economic crisis in Yemen continues to be aggravated by COVID-19, increasing fuel prices, heavy rains and flooding, and ongoing hostilities and displacement. Millions need lifesaving assistance, especially shelter, health and water and sanitation support.

“IOM’s continued partnership with KSrelief has been critical in enabling our teams to reach millions of people devastated by the crisis in Yemen,” said IOM’s Director General, António Vitorino.

“Thanks to KSrelief’s generous renewed commitment our work will ensure that communities displaced by ongoing violence can have access to safer shelter options, cleaner water and better sanitation and hygiene.”

KSrelief’s Supervisor General, Dr. Abdullah Al Rabeeah, said KSrelief is proud to work with IOM to protect and save lives.

“The two agreements signed today will provide the necessary safe shelter and urgent WASH interventions to the Yemeni IDPs and others in the targeted governorates of Ma’rib, Ta’iz and Al Hodeidah,” he said.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, represented by KSrelief is one of the world’s largest donors of humanitarian aid in Yemen and globally, and will continue to support IOM in its tireless efforts of helping IDPs world-wide.”

IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) estimates that nearly 160,000 people were displaced across 13 governorates in 2021. Many are still living in miserable conditions, with multiple households sheltering under one roof without basic means for survival.

Their shelters are often sub-standard and prone to damage by extreme weather conditions such as flooding. Less than 10 per cent of people living in displacement sites in Yemen have access to safe water and adequate sanitation, according to last year’s Humanitarian Needs Overview.

In 2021, IOM reached more than 900,000 people in Yemen with shelter relief and the provision of non-food items and more than 315,000 with WASH services.

With the latest KSrelief funding to be allocated over the next 18 months, IOM will continue lifesaving interventions by pre-positioning or providing emergency kits with shelter materials and other essential relief items; construct transitional shelters; build the capacity of communities to build and maintain new shelters; and rehabilitate shelters to reduce the risk of floods and fire hazards.

The Organization will also be able to truck water to communities, distribute hygiene kits, rehabilitate water and sanitation infrastructure and run hygiene promotion campaigns.

KSrelief and IOM have a long-standing partnership responding to the crisis in Yemen. In 2021, IOM implemented a large-scale KSrelief-funded project which provided multi-sectoral humanitarian assistance to more than 362,000 conflict-affected people.