This operation has been modified as per Budget Revision 3 (see below).

UNHCR estimates that there are at present more than 150,000 registered refugees in Yemen (with tens of thousands of new arrivals each year), the majority of whom are Somalis fleeing the ongoing instability in their country. Volatility in the Horn of Africa adds to Yemen’s protracted refugee crisis. The most vulnerable refugees are housed in the isolated Kharaz refugee camp, although many choose to settle in Yemen’s urban centres.  

The Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation (PRRO) represents an expansion and  realignment of the current PRRO 102321. A joint assessment mission (JAM) conducted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and WFP in June 2009 observed that camp refugees continue to rely exclusively on food and nutritional assistance as income generating opportunities remain limited.  

This PRRO aims to provide emergency food assistance to new arrivals, refugees at the Kharaz refugee camp and to urban refugees. In Kharaz camp, WFP provides general food assistance for all residents, meals for primary school students, and supplementary feeding programmes (SFP) for malnourished children under 5, pregnant and lactating women, and other vulnerable groups. The assistance to urban refugees in Al-Basateen provides targeted school meals and SFPs. In 2010 the operation will pilot a voucher for a vocational training activity benefiting 1,000 urban refugee families in Sana’a and Aden. The activity will promote the development of human capital and support improved employment opportunities for the refugees, with the cash voucher bridging any food access gaps during the training sessions. 

The PRRO will be implemented in close collaboration with the Government of Yemen, and in partnership with UNHCR and several international and national cooperating partners (CPs). The operation is in line with WFP’s Strategic Objectives (SOs): 1 – Save Lives and Protect Livelihoods in Emergencies, and SO 3 – Restore and rebuild lives and livelihoods in postconflict, post-disaster or transition situations. Furthermore, the PRRO addresses Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 1 – Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; MDG 2 – Achieve universal primary education; MDG 4 – Reduce child mortality; and MDG 5 – Improve maternal health. 

The PRRO covers a protracted refugee situation, and thus viable exit strategies are extremely limited. Any handover strategy would need to be linked to UNHCR’s durable solutions. There is currently no durable solution for Yemen’s refugees, as resettlement options are limited and continued hostilities hinder repatriation efforts. 

Countries

Yemen

  Yemen is facing an increasingly complex and deteriorating humanitarian situation which is leaving many families in a hunger trap and absolute poverty.  The country is one of the world’s most food insecure and least developed....