UNICEF Yemen Humanitarian Situation Report (July 2018)
Highlights
• The fighting that erupted in areas in and around Al Hudaydah in May 2018 has continued into July leading to the displacement of 47,230 households as at 24 July. UNICEF continues its emergency WASH response to displaced communities in al Hudaydah and surrounding areas.
• Following the Oral Cholera Vaccine (OCV) vaccination campaign in south Yemen in May, UNICEF Yemen has commenced preparation of a new campaign in the north of Yemen (scheduled for August) to protect an additional 540,595 people (over 1 years of age).
• UNICEF continues to enhance its resource mobilisation for the incentives of more than 143,000 teachers who have not been paid for over two years, in order to continue education in north Yemen. With the new schoolyear set to start in September, 3.7 million children may be at risk of missing out on a new school year.
• Compared to June, child casualties have increased by more than 70 per cent in Taizz, Sadaa and Hajjah: the UN Country Task Force documented and verified the killing of 21 children (13 boys; 8 girls) and the maiming of 82 children (51 boys; 31 girls), as well as four attacks on schools and one attack on a hospital.
The verified cases took place mainly in Taizz, Sa’ada, Al Hudaydah and Hajjah.
Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs
The fighting that erupted in areas in and around Al Hudaydah in May 2018 has continued into July leading to the displacement of 47,230 households as of 24 July. As of late July some 300 displaced families are living in public schools in Sana’a, Dhamar and Amran. Between 26 and 28 July, airstrikes occurred near a health centre and a public laboratory, which resulted in the damaging of a sanitation facility and a water station which provides most of the water supply to Al Hudaydah. The severity of the airstrikes led to a statement by the Humanitarian Coordinator, Lise Grande, warning for the extreme risks that the Yemeni’s are facing in Al Hudaydah. Further attacks on water systems occurred in Sa’ada, northwest of the country.
The recent attacks on water systems have caused reduced access to safe drinking water. Combined with other factors such as the onset of heavy rainfall and a relatively high number of people, 10 million, living in prioritized Cholera districts , concern for a third wave of cholera epidemic. This concern coincides with a significant increase in lab-confirmed cholera cases which have been reported since the beginning of July; a total of 115 confirmed cases . UNICEF’s has undertaken necessary preparations for the launch of an Oral Cholera Vaccine campaign in August in northern Yemen, which aims to mitigate the possibility of a third wave cholera outbreak. For the campaign in north Yemen, 471,998 people are targeted.
Children continue to bear the brunt of the war in many ways – the lack of teacher salaries for more than two years in north Yemen jeopardises the education of 3.7 million children. With the school year set to start in September, teacher’s incentives are imperative to the education of millions of children.
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/unicef-yemen-humanitarian-situation-report-july-2018
