Yemen – Complex Emergency Fact Sheet #10, Fiscal Year (FY) 2012

Hundreds of families have returned to Ja'ar, Lawdar, and Zinjibar towns since June, according to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). However, insecurity and damaged houses and municipal infrastructure are preventing significant displaced populations from returning to Abyan permanently, with approximately 320,000 individuals still displaced. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has released an appeal in mid-July to respond to current and emerging needs and support early recovery in Abyan. The six-month Abyan Response Plan aims to assist 320,000 people, with approximately $87 million in humanitarian requirements identified. This plan will supplement the current 2012 U.N. Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan, bringing the total requested assistance countrywide to $591 million. The U.S. Government (USG) is providing nearly $108 million in humanitarian assistance to Yemen in FY 2012, including more than $20.2 million from USAID's Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA), nearly $68 million from USAID's Office of Food for Peace (USAID/FFP), and approximately $19.7 million from the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (State/PRM). Since late June, USAID/OFDA has provided nearly $5 million in additional humanitarian assistance to Yemen, with funding going towards water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) interventions and provision of essential relief commodities in various governorates. Yemen is facing a complex emergency situation, with over 545,310 internally displaced persons (IDPs) and 220,928 refugees in need of humanitarian assistance. The country has been affected by conflict between the RoYG and al-Houthi opposition forces since 2004, resulting in the need for humanitarian assistance. The recent Arab Spring protests and ensuing political crisis have exacerbated conditions, leading to increased humanitarian needs among vulnerable populations. A large-scale food insecurity and malnutrition crisis has been building in Yemen since 2009, with as many as half of the country's 24 million people being food insecure.