UNESCO Chair Intern Sali Hafez gave a seminar
‘How the Humanitarian Coordination Mechanisms Influenced Humanitarian access in Yemen?’
Abstract:
Yemen is witnessing one of the worst and most complex humanitarian crises for the last two and a half years (OCHA, 2017). An estimated 22.2 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, representing three quarters of the Yemeni population. Of these, 11.3 million are in acute need of humanitarian assistance (Yemen Humanitarian Needs Overview, 2018). The pre-conflict infrastructure was fragile and the ongoing conflict worsened the situation leading to serious protection issues; severe food shortages; malnutrition crises; multiple epidemics, including cholera, diphtheria and measles; collapse of public services; and loss of livelihood and a challenging decline in economic activity (Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan 2018). Responding to these urgent humanitarian needs is challenged by restricted access (UN Envoy on Yemen, 2017). Selective humanitarian access in Yemen can be attributed to the presence of different parallel coordination mechanisms.
