Due to the collapse of the health system in Yemen as a result of the war, the country has been in great need of contraceptives and life saving medicines. When it comes to SRHR services and measures, many women and girls are completely dependent on the support provided by (I)NGOs and UN organisations.

Despite several logistical challenges related to the fact that contraceptives and SRHR medicines are often not allowed to pass at checkpoints and border controls, most Dutch-supported partners were able to continue their work thanks to maintaining a close working relationship with the government authorities.

The health of mothers and children is at severe risk in Yemen. Partners working on SRHR prioritise support of maternal health and reducing infant mortality. Safe motherhood services, such as safe delivery and antenatal care, are therefore of the utmost importance to the Netherlands.

16,048 pregnant women received antennal care during a visit to a health provider. Supplies, including reproductive health supplies and maternal and neonatal health supplies, were delivered directly to the warehouses of the 22 Governorate Health Offices (GHOs) and the 22 Governorate Hospitals in Yemen.

Despite the challenging and volatile context in Yemen, the Dutch-supported partners have been able to contribute significantly to infant and maternal health care. This is related to the fact that, within the SRHR spectrum, infant and maternal health care is not such a sensitive theme, which creates space to develop activities.

The key challenge faced were delays in distribution processes from the governorate down to the district and health facility level, leading to reports of no stocks at some service delivery points, even though the commodities were available at the central or governorate level. Starting in 2019, UNFPA, as one of the key Dutch partners in the area of SRHR in Yemen, has agreed to support the ministry in distributing the commodities to the district level under the direct stewardship of the Ministry of Public Health and Population.

There has been an increase in humanitarian sectors that have mainstreamed gender-based violence (GBV) considerations in their SRHR response plans. UNFPA has established a so-called 'GBVIMS System', which is updated and enhanced on a regular basis to ensure accuracy of data. In addition, a central database has been established, which contains the data and indicators necessary to help UNFPA and its sub-cluster partners to track, monitor and support GBV cases and provide services.

In the context of Yemen, this result area focuses mainly on awareness programmes that promote the importance of access to sexual and reproductive health services, and on improved co-ordination mechanisms among SRHR partners to enhance the sharing of data, good practices and information.

Approximately 1.5 million m2 land has been surveyed and cleared in 13 governorates and 45 districts in the period of 1 October 2018 - 31 December 2018, the end date of project. Survey operations in all governorates amounted to 805,000 m2.

During the same period, 312 survivors were screened and assisted.

The clearance operations by YEMAC (trained and assisted by UNDP and partners) resulted in a total of 355,735 beneficiaries (direct and indirect), including those who benefited during the period 1 October 2018 - 31 December 2018. This figure represents the total number of beneficiaries since the project started in 2017.

UNDP has been supporting YEMAC (Yemen Executive Mine Action Centre) staff since the start of the project. UNDP has trained staff and cleared large areas in Yemen. This has resulted in a large number of beneficiaries and survivors being screened and assisted. The results achieved are expressed in million m2 demined.

Results achieved are as planned but influenced by the ongoing conflict: the fluid security situation and access to contaminated sites due to the deterioration of the security situation and the escalation of fighting. The fragmentation of YEMAC: one branch in the Houthi-controlled north and the one falling under the legitimate GOY in the south. At times, this makes it difficult to streamline and combine training for the two divisions.

The need for ongoing demining will remain but YEMAC has limited capacity and continuous strengthening and assistance (technical and financial) is still needed. Clearing areas remains a necessary action: as long as the conflict is ongoing, new areas will be mined by the fighting sides. Nevertheless, one could consider the objectives as partially achieved: large areas have been cleared of mines and YEMAC staff trained in demining, but further capacity of trained staff is still needed and large (new) areas are contaminated.

The Yemen conflict is still ongoing and no peace agreement has been reached. During the reporting period, the Netherlands continued to support the mediation efforts of the (Office of the) UN Special Envoy for Yemen, resulting in numerous dialogues with the parties and stakeholders, and high-level diplomacy in co-operation with international partners (Track I level support). Simultaneously, the Netherlands continued to support the initiatives of several NGOs at Track II and III level to strengthen and empower civil society, (tribal) leaders at national, regional and local level, entrepreneurs, women and youth in peace building/conflict resolution and promote participation at local and regional level. The NGOs’ activities included training, capacity strengthening activities, facilitation of dialogues, publishing of policy papers and feeding into the Track I level through dialogues/policy advice from the different Yemeni groups brought together. At each of the three track levels, numerous dialogues (informal, formal, seminars, high-level political meetings, community groups, etc.) took place, resulting in little steps but with each of them contributing to the much-needed enhanced stability, security and peace. Most of the activities were executed as planned by the different NGOs and their various Yemeni groups, although some delays occurred. The ongoing conflict placed constraints on implementation in certain cases: permission to leave the country, safety concerns, military and political developments and difficulties in obtaining visas and tickets are just a few examples of the bottlenecks encountered.

Yemen has the lowest water availability per capita in the world. The outbreaks of diarrhoea and cholera are evidence of the current poor WASH situation in Yemen.

15.556 people used safely managed drinking water services. The results were achieved by integrating water supply, sanitation and hygiene. The implementing partner responded to the current water shortage due to the gradual reduction of the groundwater level, the intermittent water supply to communities in urban and rural areas, and the continuous deterioration due to excessive consumption.

The results were achieved through the completion of 1,569 rooftop cisterns, four communal cisterns and the rehabilitation of water services in six schools and two public health facilities.

The new water supply systems have improved public health, economic and social conditions among the targeted population/families. In addition, the intervention has resulted in a rise in the number of students returning to school (especially girls), as they no longer need to spend their days fetching water from distant unsafe water sources.

The number of people reached by safely managed drinking water services has been measured accurately and reflects one of the embassy’s core indicators for WASH activities.

In Yemen, many rural communities employ unsafe habits, such as open defecation, refraining from washing hands and drinking non-purified water. The reasons for this are manifold and include a lack of health awareness, water scarcity, lack of access to clean water and overall economic conditions. Most of the houses do not have basic sanitation facilities, such as sinks for washing hands.

The result was achieved through the completion of 1,673 latrines and rehabilitation of sanitation services in six schools and two public health facilities.

Before the intervention, students needed to wait a whole day without visiting the toilet and for access to water until they returned to their homes. Furthermore, two per cent of the students suffered from diabetes and required frequent access to functioning latrines. Attendance among those students dropped to 50 per cent due to a lack of access to proper sanitary facilities. After the rehabilitation of the facilities and the provision of water, absenteeism levels among the students fell, including that among those students with diabetes who were recorded as being present regularly after the intervention.

The number of people reached by safely managed sanitation services has been measured accurately and reflects one of the embassy’s core indicators for WASH activities.