Throughout this year, the World Food Programme (WFP) has increased assistance to all famine risk areas in Yemen, but as the economy keeps deteriorating, families are struggling to survive even with food assistance. In Maghrabah, a remote district in Hajjah governorate in northern Yemen, families are resorting to eating the waxy leaves of a local tree to survive, boiling them to soften them into a bitter-tasting paste that is slightly more digestible. Maghrabah is one of 11 districts in Yemen where famine-like conditions were identified in late 2020. "Sometimes I feel like I'm going to die without food. Sometimes we get a little food from the neighbours, but there are nights when we starve. All of us," said Abdullatif. “When this happens, we have to eat leaves. The tree grows in our village and many of the people here eat the leaves due to a lack of food.” Abdullatif and his wife have five children. The family receives monthly food assistance from the World Food Programme (WFP) – a food basket of staples including flour, pulses, oil, sugar and salt. That is the only food they have – and when it runs out the family gathers leaves from the ‘halas’ tree to eat. Villagers used to eat the leaves only occasionally, but now this plant has become a regular meal. Abdullatif’s remote village has been further isolated by fuel shortages. Fuel imports into Yemen are down 73 percent year on year, pushing prices up and creating a thriving black market. Few in Adbullatif’s village can now afford public transport, making travelling for medical care - or even to market to buy food - almost impossible. Young father Essam, 25, knows this too well. He sold his family’s two cooking gas cylinders to pay for transport from Hajjah to Sana’a city to get treatment for his malnourished son, Fouad. Three-month-old Fouad weighed just 3.2 kg – about half the average weight for a baby his age – when he was admitted to hospital. “It doesn’t matter what I sell. I wanted to save my son’s life,” Essam told WFP.  Even for families who have access to markets, soaring food prices have left millions in Yemen struggling to afford enough food to get them through the day. The cost of a minimum food basket has risen by well over 40 percent since the start of the year in some southern governorates, including Abyan (60 percent), Ma’rib (55 percent), Hadramawt (50 percent), Aden (46 percent) and Ad Dali (46 percent). In the north, prices have risen over 25 percent in many areas. While Yemen’s crisis is complex, the effect of years of war on families like Abdullatif’s is clear. “A young man like me should live better, in a better condition. I don’t care about my future now. What I care about now is how I can feed my kids,” said Abdullatif. Abdullatif’s two youngest children – one-year-old Jalal and Jalilah, 4 months – are showing signs of acute malnutrition. Their hair is turning blonde, a sign of serious nutrient deficiency. They are just two of the 2.3 million Yemeni children under 5 at risk of malnutrition this year. But despite the warning signs, Abdullatif says he cannot afford to take them to a nutrition clinic – the cost of transport is too high for him. With the drivers of Yemen’s crisis showing no signs of abating, hunger is rising. Inadequate food consumption, one measure of hunger tracked by WFP, is increasing largely due to the economic downturn -- 45 percent of people in the south and 37 percent in the north do not eat enough food, This is pushing families to resort to desperate measures like eating leaves to survive.   Recent history shows that support for frontline humanitarian agencies like WFP makes a difference in Yemen. A famine was averted in 2019 as donors stepped up allowing WFP to scale up food assistance by 50 percent. This worked in tandem with a US$2 billion deposit into Yemen’s Central Bank by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that facilitated food imports and supported the recovery of the exchange rate, bringing the price of food down. However, WFP will start running out of food from October. Food assistance is also only one part of what so many families in Yemen need. Other programmes like health, protection, education and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services are also facing cuts. As world leaders gather for the United Nations General Assembly this week, WFP urges them to remember that the level of need in Yemen will continue to grow unless action is taken to make food and fuel more accessible and affordable. Action taken today will save lives and lay the foundations for peace. Until peace comes to Yemen, the fear of hunger will continue to stalk families. “Hunger does not show mercy to anyone. If it comes, it will kill you and your children. That is how I always imagine it: as a killer. Like a ghost,” said Abdullatif. “I fear for my children."

Yemen currently holds the unenviable title — the epicenter of the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with nearly half its population on the brink of famine, hundreds of thousands affected by cholera, and more than 20 million people in need of humanitarian assistance and protection. Protracted conflict has severely affected the country's healthcare system since 2015. Essential medication and equipment have been in short supply throughout the war; barely half the nation’s public health facilities are fully functional; and for three years, healthcare workers went unpaid. As a result, many workers have been forced to quit healthcare and, even now, in a time of great need, facilities are losing staff as the nation is gripped by COVID-19. Even proximity to a functioning health facility does not guarantee access to a specific service. About 40% of the population lives more than a two-hour drive from full emergency obstetric, surgical and antenatal care. In terms of walkability, 45% of Yemenis live more than 30 minutes away from the nearest operational primary healthcare facility, and 68% live more than a 60-minute walk from the nearest hospital. A lack of healthcare services The district of Nawjed in Socotra Governorate on an island off Yemen’s southern coast contains clusters of small, remote villages with a combined population of 18,000. Bedlihi, which is home to the major healthcare center, is considered the second most densely populated after Hadibu District, and comprised of 15 tribes (each consisting of between 100-300 people). Serving a small population size and changing needs, its local healthcare facility lacks services providing emergency, obstetric, gynecological, and child nutrition care, and laboratories and suffers from severe staffing shortages that interfere with preventative care and routine diagnoses. In fact, after malaria, the most common disease in the region, was eliminated, only to be quickly replaced by diarrhea, dengue fever, typhoid, and acute malnutrition. “There is only one healthcare facility in our entire region, and for many years a single doctor was responsible for running it and treating all the patients,” said local resident Ali Sa’ad Jumaan. “I hope this facility will be able to provide more services, particularly for pregnant women. They have to travel to Hadibu for urgent care and some of them end up dying on the way.” The power of partnerships Fortunately, the Yemen Emergency Health and Nutrition Project (EHNP) is now providing basic health, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene services to the country’s most remote and historically underserved areas, thanks to partnerships between the International Development Association (IDA)—the World Bank fund for the world’s poorest countries—and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Yemen’s Ministry of Public Health and Population and Governorates’ Health Offices. Under the EHNP, IDA and UNICEF support service delivery for primary healthcare, including: child care; nutrition; general services and trauma care; the treatment of common, communicable diseases; basic laboratory services; reproductive, maternal, and newborn health; mental health and psychosocial support; and environmental health services. Nawjed’s clinic recently began monitoring child nutrition, administering vaccines to pregnant women and children, and sending ambulances to transport pregnant women, the sick and the elderly to the clinic. The obstetrics emergency unit now sees at least 20 cases a day and has become more effective. Say’un, at a glance Over 600km away in Hadramaut Governorate, the EHNP has made it possible to offer free healthcare services to pregnant women, children, and patients with routine healthcare needs, as well as nutrition, reproductive health, and immunization services. An internally displaced person, and recently widowed, 50-year-old Safia Ali Hassan was struggling to meet her family’s needs and began to view healthcare as a luxury. She had been scraping to get by since the shooting of her eldest son, who helped pay for food and other household items. She experienced extreme anxiety whenever one of her other children fell sick. The free medical services of a community outreach team have alleviated her family’s suffering. She no longer has to travel a long distance for healthcare or pay for transport and treatment. She wants the service to continue. “It gives us some of the essential care we need and receives many patients from other families like mine,” said Safia. Community outreach activities in the city of Sa’yun take place each week, with teams of specialists visiting to fill in the region’s health gaps. Residents can now be seen by immunization, reproductive health, and/or child health specialists and a dietician. According to a 25-year-old nurse, Ali Omar Ahmed Taeib, “the support we have received has made a big difference in the services our facility provides. We are now close to 90% functionality.” The EHNP has made great progress when it comes to improving community health services. Still, there is still a long way to go before sustained health development reaches all Yemenis. By April 2021, the ENHP program had made it possible for: 537,193 births to be attended by skilled health personnel  1.25 million pregnant women to receive antenatal care  2.6 million Yemenis to receive oral cholera vaccine  37,482 health workers to receive targeted health training  4,246 health facilities to be equipped and ready to support and treat patients  1,964 health facilities to receive direct support, including regular supplies and equipment, as well as issuing per diems to health workers to carry out community visits  7.6 million children to be vaccinated against preventable diseases  1.3 million women to receive basic nutrition services.

I did not have any assistance. When I arrived in Yemen, I was sleeping on the sidewalk – frightened, starving and ill,” recalled Bilal Muhammad, an 18-year-old Ethiopian migrant who recently found himself stranded in the country.  Bilal is one of thousands of migrants whose dream of a new life opportunity in nearby Gulf countries was shattered by the conflict and COVID-19-related movement restrictions. He has become, along with 32,000 others, stranded in Yemen, living in extreme dire conditions.  Despite his young age, Bilal left his mother and three brothers back home in Ethiopia and decided to embark on the perilous route to Yemen, in a hope to find a good income source in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that would allow him to provide a better life for his family.  I travelled from Ethiopia to Djibouti, then crossed Yemen’s sea to Shabwah’s coast, moved to Aden governorate, then travelled on foot to Sa’dah governorate,” he said.  With the recent loosening of restrictions on international movements, migrant arrivals into Yemen have started to show a slow increase, although the overall numbers remain low compared to pre-pandemic years.   The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that in 2019 over 138,000 migrants arrived in Yemen, while just over 37,500 came in 2020. Thus far in 2021, the Organization has recorded more than 11,500 migrant arrivals to the country.  Migrants who manage to arrive in Yemen continue to face significant barriers in accessing the humanitarian services and employment necessary to survive. The pandemic and persistent conflict have pushed them further into the shadows and left them reliant on smuggling networks to get by.  Most migrants who come from the Horn of Africa arrive to Yemen’s western coast – somewhere between Hajjah and Shabwah – before they attempt to make their way onward.   The smugglers then provide transportation to those migrants who can afford the journey, taking them to Aden. Migrants who do not have money usually travel for weeks on foot to reach the same destination.   Eager to cross the borders to KSA , they then take an extremely dangerous trip from Aden to Sa’dah. On the way, many migrants find themselves caught up amid armed clashes.  While on this same route trying to cross the border in Sa’dah, Bilal was attacked and suffered  multiple injuries to his head and partial loss of consciousness.  In the same violent incident, Yaseen Omar, a 27-year-old Ethiopian migrant who was travelling with Bilal to KSA, was also assaulted in Sa’dah.   He lost a lot of blood and fell unconscious after receiving multiple gunshots in his abdomen and pelvis. Yaseen was in desperate need of surgery to stop the internal bleeding.  Both Bilal and Yaseen were in life-threatening health conditions and needed to be transferred to Sana’a for advanced health care.  IOM collaborates with the Government of Germany to provide emergency and essential health services to vulnerable migrants in Yemen, including medicine and medical supplies. The Organization also refers moderate and severe medical cases to hospitals for further care.  When some of the Ethiopian community members brought Bilal to the IOM clinic in Sana’a, he was disorientated, agitated and dehydrated,” explained Dr. Raidan Al-Dahmashi, who is part of IOM’s Migration Health team in Sana’a.  We knew that he had to be referred immediately for urgent medical care,” he added.  Likewise, the IOM Migration Health team referred Yaseen for higher care as soon as the Ethiopian community brought him to IOM’s clinic in Sana’a due to his severe condition.  Bilal was admitted to Al Jomhori Hospital for intensive care, but it was more complicated for Yaseen, who was barely conscious and suffering from multiple pelvic fractures when he arrived at the hospital.   He was referred to the Emergency Department of another public hospital, Al-Thawra hospital, for better diagnosis, and later to a private hospital, Al-Ahli Modern hospital, where he underwent two significant operations and remained under intensive care for a month.  IOM supported both Bilal and Yaseen, who spent time in the intensive care unit, under close observation from medical staff and receiving medication, nutrition and mental health support for about a month.  After their recovery, they were sent to stay with a foster family, through IOM’s Foster Family Programme, who provided them with a safe place to live while they received further care and proper nutrition.   Now, Bilal and Yaseen wish to go back to their families and have registered to voluntarily return home through IOM’s Voluntary Humanitarian Return programme.  The Organization saved me and restored my hope that I will return  to my country, my family and my friends,” said Bilal, feeling relieved that he regained his health.  IOM, with funding from the German Government,  provided nearly 3,000 migrants with medical consultations, 3,700 health awareness sessions and 300 hospital referrals between January and May 2021.    Written by Mennatallah Homaid, IOM Yemen Communication Assistant 

Yemenis have lost confidence in the formal justice system and instead often rely on trusted local leaders. In 2017, the Yemeni government, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the governments of the Netherlands and the United States, and the United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office, established the Enhanced Security and Protection at the Local Level in Yemen Project. In the wake of steadily weakening social ties in Yemeni society, the project aims to improve access to formal and informal justice and security services across Yemen — at the individual, community, and institutional level. The project strives to increase access to justice while improving the capacities of justice and security institutions to deliver quality services that respond to public demand. One component of this project is reflected in UNDP’s partnership with Search for Common Ground (SFCG). UNDP and SFCG provided training to 115 trusted local actors (including 40 women) in conflict scanning and community dialogue. These ‘Insider Mediators’ are respected members of the community committed to peacebuilding. UNDP and SFCG empower the Insider Mediators work to facilitate non-violent resolutions between groups — within a family or community, and through professional dialogue — and connect community members to judicial and security services when appropriate. By acting as a neutral party, the Insider Mediators help to restore community ties and encourage inclusive peacebuilding processes, supporting the establishment of a solid foundation for the nation’s recovery from conflict. These are the words of five Insider Mediators. Economic Difficulties at the Root of Increased Conflict “Since the economy crashed in Yemen, we are seeing more problems arise within the community,” explains Ahmed, a young Insider Mediator. “One of the most common problems here is land disputes,” he continues. “There are many vacant lots of land. People often come and seize them or claim them as their own, then they try to sell them.” With fewer opportunities to find stable work, many Yemenis are forced to survive with less financial resources and may take more desperate measures to provide basic amenities for their loved ones. Noor, one of the women to successfully complete Insider Mediator training, is the head of a local society and now a prominent and trusted figure among mediators and local authorities. She notes, “most of the problems we are seeing in Yemeni society today have their roots in economic hardship.” An inability to buy food or afford medicine and healthcare often leads to heightened stress and more frequent arguments in the home. But Noor is optimistic: “I love being a mediator because we are able to bring people together. I remind people that we are stronger if we support one another.” Ahmed, who completed his studies in social services, understands well the importance of community leaders in resolving neighbourhood quarrels. “I have successfully resolved land disputes thanks to the support and leadership of the local Imam and community leaders,” he says. “These leaders are respected.” What can we Achieve with Informal Justice? Nasser, another Insider Mediator, works in the security sector. With key insights from his daily work, Nasser understands firsthand why it is critical for Insider Mediators to intervene before an argument escalates into a violent dispute. “I receive referrals due to my job in security,” explains Nasser, proudly recounting his experiences. “I was called out to a case following reports that four armed men were trying to force their way into a hotel,” he explains. “I discovered the problem was due to a dispute between two families and was able to resolve it before it escalated to any violence or required police intervention.” For Wael, a school principal, informal justice also plays a critical role in enabling the continuation of basic services. “When I joined as the principal at my school, I had an issue with the absenteeism of teachers,” he said. With over 1,100 students to educate, the absent teachers were depriving young Yemenis of vital skills needed to ensure opportunities for a successful future. “I used my training as a mediator to work with the teachers and the Ministry of Education to get the teachers back into the classrooms. We were able to negotiate for most of the teachers to return to work.” Getting the Word Out Among the five Insider Mediators we spoke with, most rely on word-of-mouth for referrals, but many rely on their existing recognition within the community. For Mohammed, a lawyer of 25 years and mediator for five, the closing of his legal office — a place where people knew they could find him — forced him to be innovative. “I use Facebook to promote my services as a mediator,” he says. “I receive cases online including land disputes, debt payment, disagreements between families and tribes, and inheritance disputes.” The Insider Mediators are well respected in their communities and regularly liaise with local religious and tribal leaders or formal authorities to resolve cases peacefully. “As a former consultant to the local authorities, I used to be called for cases because they wanted me to settle disputes before things turned violent,” explains Mohammed. The Insider Mediators are part of a strong network and often refer cases to one another. “I cannot always take certain sensitive cases,” explains Noor. “So, I refer people to Mohammed for disputes requiring legal recourse due to his years of experience.” A Toolbox for Formal Justice Actors Understanding that the formal justice system still has a critical role to play within the community, UNDP has provided formal training and capacity building for over 1,000 personnel from rule of law institutions, including judges, prosecutors, police, and prison officials. UNDP also supports the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda in Yemen, training 40 women police officers in Aden and 40 officers of the Civil Defence Authority in Sana’a with support from the government of the Netherlands. This WPS work will continue thanks to a new agreement with the Yemen Women’s Union (YWU), and support from the Republic of Korea. Building on initial successes, the YWU will help strengthen cooperation between women police officers and institutions that can provide targeted care for women, children, and families. At the same time, more advanced training on survivor-centred justice will continue. The Enhanced Security and Protection at the Local Level in Yemen project aims to improve the quality of justice and security services thereby fostering public trust and confidence across all levels of Yemeni society. At the individual level, the project provides legal support to disadvantaged people, including the marginalised and prison detainees. At the community level, it helps stakeholders identify the issues and challenges that are most important to them and work with local justice institutions to actively address their priorities. At the institutional level, the project assists authorities to improve justice and policing services, such as through community-oriented policing.