Emergency Response To The Immediate Shelter And Wash Needs For Idps In Displaced Areas And Conflict Affected Neighborhoods Within Al-Hudaydah Governorate-Yemen

Yemen has become the largest humanitarian crisis globally, the largest food security crisis, and the most widespread, with an estimated 22.2 million people in needs to humanitarian or protection assistance. Half of the Yemeni population live in areas directly affected by conflict. The crisis resulted in almost total collapse of basic services and institutions, as well as immense pressure on essential basic services resulting in the collapse of institutions. Access to essential social services is extremely limited: only 50% of health facilities are functioning, and even these face severe shortages in medicines, equipment, and staff; 16 million people lack adequate access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene; resulting in unprecedented 2017 cholera outbreak; and 4.5 million children without access to education. More than 50% of the population requires support to meet their basic water, sanitation and hygiene needs. Around 5.4 million people need emergency shelter, and shelter remains the third most critical need for both IDPs and Returnees after food and access to income/financial assistance. Before the war, urban population growth has increased poverty in urban and rural areas, with a rapid increase of land cost in a number of cities like Sana’a and Aden, this has led to deficit in housing supply. Yemen urban growth has increased by an average of 4.41 percent which is almost double of that in a number of countries in the Arab Region. However, the housing and urban planning have not developed in the same pace, leading to significant overcrowding in the main cities, with a high percent of people living in substandard housing units. Housing, Land and Property rights is not properly registered in a national cadastral, but rather a local paper-based deeds registration system. The increase in construction cost has led to the usage of low-quality construction material. As per the findings of the World Bank DNA, more than 25% of the housing stock has experienced some form of damages due to the protracted conflict which affecting all economic sector, including housing sector which is not witnessing any progress, nor reconstruction and rehabilitation of housing is taking place.Housing reconstruction and rehabilitation in Yemen is essential from a rights-based recovery approach, as well as essential for return, and for a renewed social contract based on citizen-state trust, social cohesion, private sector-led growth, and sustainable development. A holistic support system is needed to allow at-risk populations, a dignified return to their communities; and for communities to be stabilized to support sustainable peace and avoid a return to divisive sectarianism and separatism. Individual interventions need to be complemented by community programmes and approaches, which address underlying causes of violent extremism, including exclusion, poor service delivery and governance, and marginalization and poverty with the aim of easing tensions, and reducing the frustration and sense of hopelessness that can be conducive to conflict. Ultimately, citizens need to regain their faith in institutions that address their needs, including to deliver basic services. It is of great value, to strengthen the nexus between “humanitarian”/life-saving, peace building and early recovery/development. While life-saving activities such as rehabilitation of severely damaged housing remain critical in the current context. However, to strengthen stabilization and peace building; the development agencies will remain essential in providing much needed medium-term technical assistance and reconstruction investments, such as addressing housing finance needs, HLP rights for those who have fled their homes during the conflict and returned at a later stage. This should be combined with close coordination with local authorities to develop urban recovery and development plans.