IOM’s CCCM programming has expanded in response to new and protracted displacement throughout Yemen. Most notably, IOM remains the largest CCCM partner and the sub-national CCCM lead in Marib governorate, where clashes in early 2020 resulted in the displacement of over 9,000 additional displaced households into Marib, joining the hundreds of thousands already in camps in the governorate. According to the site reporting carried out through CCCM partners across the country, there are over 1,600 IDP hosting sites in Yemen, less than 30 per cent of which have functioning static or mobile CCCM support. A majority of these sites are extremely vulnerable to the spread of communicable diseases, such as COVID-19. In 2020, CCCM teams will continue to increase CCCM capacity and presence across 54 IDP hosting sites in Yemen, with a focus on strengthening mobile and static CCCM teams in Marib, Ibb and Taizz governorates, and potential expansion of services to IDP sites in Shabwah, Hadramaut and Abyan, based on displacement trends. IOM will mobilize critical support in each site through integrated WASH, S-NFI, protection, health and MHPSS programming. IOM mobile and static CCCM support teams will carry out community mobilization and capacity-building; care and maintenance of site infrastructure; and site improvements projects, built on community-led planning processes, and coordination and service monitoring in IDP hosting sites. In addition to ensuring that IDPs reside in dignified and safe environments, these activities will contribute to the COVID-19 response, by maximizing crowd management and adherence to infection prevention and control (IPC) standards. CCCM teams will facilitate continued community consultations related to COVID-19 and support community-led surveillance systems and information dissemination related to service delivery, health and hygiene. The teams will ensure that community concerns and feedback are communicated to relevant humanitarian and government partners. In particular, site planning, decongestion and improvement activities will contribute to the expansion of services such as isolation areas and clinics. IOM will provide technical advice and capacity building for local authorities acting as camp administrators, as well as community representatives and national non-governmental organizations working in site management. IOM will also support the formation and strengthening of IDP camp committees, providing them with the skills, tools and physical spaces to contribute to self-governance. With significant CCCM expertise in-country and globally, IOM will support formal and on-the-job training for local organizations to increase their knowledge of displacement management best practices and COVID-19 prevention and response. Site level CCCM teams will conduct regular monitoring of needs and maintain comprehensive mapping of site-level service gaps and register any COVID-19 related service disruption, in order to feed into inter and intra CCCM coordination and provide up to date referrals to relevant humanitarian partners for further services. Finally, as IDPs face significant issues related to security of tenure throughout Yemen, IOM will also continue to engage with protection partners and local authorities to address land and property issues in informal settlements and collective sites.

In 2020, IOM will continue to support initiatives that strengthen protection support for extremely vulnerable individuals impacted by conflict: those most at risk of grave harm, marginalized and excluded from existing support systems. Activities will focus on addressing barriers to accessing protection services by improving availability of specialized services; strengthening localized capacities to address protection risks and community-based protection mechanisms; and ensuring appropriate and effective inclusion. Recognizing that access to direct protection services is limited in Yemen, IOM will also work on bolstering service provision, strengthening referral mechanisms and looking at innovative and safe ways to work with community-based structures. Specialized and general protection services will include dedicated case management and individual protection assistance, individual or group based psychosocial support, child and adolescent protection, vocational trainings and livelihood support, community-based protection, and protection monitoring. These are provided through IOM-supported community response centres (CRC) and mobile protection teams operating across Aden, Marib, Sana’a and Lahj governorates. IOM’s mobile teams will carry out outreach activities to address barriers to accessing assistance and raise awareness of humanitarian services (including by incorporating COVID-19 risk communication and community engagement activities). Referrals for health, S-NFI, cash and legal assistance are also facilitated through this approach, and allow IOM to also work with affected communities to strengthen community-based protection mechanisms, linking community groups to service centres and enhancing community based psychosocial and protection support. With risks, threats and vulnerabilities being dynamic, protection outcomes are mainstreamed across IOM’s programmes, and interventions aim to empower individuals through a Do No Harm lens. Vulnerable persons at risk – including gender-based violence (GBV) survivors and those at risk of GBV, children, persons with disabilities, older persons, victims of trafficking (VoT), migrants and other crisis-affected persons – will be safely and ethically supported depending on needs and in accordance with internal and inter-agency protection-related guidance, including the inter-agency GBV Minimum Standards, Child Protection Minimum Standards and IOM’s GBV in Crisis Framework.

Migrants are being disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as they struggle to access humanitarian services and fear detention or forced quarantine. IOM co-leads the RMMS sector and operates Migrant Response Points (MRPs) in Sana’a and Aden where immediate assistance is provided to migrants. In 2020, IOM will contribute to the improvement of living conditions and protection of migrants in Yemen through the delivery of critical humanitarian assistance and voluntary return support. Services including protection case management and referrals, health care, MHPSS, and humanitarian assistance (including food, water and NFIs distribution) are provided through IOM MRP and Mobile Migrant Response Teams (MRTs). In 2020, IOM will expand its presence through the establishment of additional MRPs and MMTs along the southern coast and key migrant routes across the country, while integrating COVID-19 risk communication and community engagement, screening and referral activities.

IOM will continue to help migrants and refugees’ voluntarily return from Yemen to their countries of origin through its Voluntary Humanitarian Return (VHR) and Assisted Spontaneous Return (ASR) programmes. Although COVID-19 border restrictions have put a temporary pause on IOM movement programmes, IOM expects to resume these programmes before the end of the year. All migrants interested in VHR assistance, mainly Ethiopian migrants, are individually counselled by case managers and priority is given to the most vulnerable including unaccompanied and separated children (UASC), women, older persons, medical cases and persons who have experienced human rights violations. Through the ASR programme in collaboration with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), IOM provides operational assistance– such as medical screenings, land and sea transportation – ensuring that Somali refugees travel safely by boat from Aden, Yemen to Somalia where they receive onward medical and transportation assistance to their final destination. Air and boat transportation will be restored once the COVID-19 restrictions are decreased. Return operations will incorporate COVID-19 related measures into pre-departure and arrival procedures. IOM is committed to supporting the development of long-term migration management solutions and will continue to engage with national and regional counterparts to strengthen migration management in Yemen. IOM’s RRMRP for the Horn of Africa, as well as the Somalia Migrant Response Plan, present a starting point for regional dialogue and cooperation that will be prioritized in 2020.

IOM will continue to provide life-saving primary and secondary preventative and curative health-care services to displaced and conflict-affected communities, and migrants, while also ensuring that critical public health infrastructures continue to operate despite the ongoing conflict and particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. In coordination with the Ministry of Health and Population, World Health Organization (WHO) and the Health Cluster, IOM will strengthen the existing health-care systems across Yemen through the direct provision of essential health-care services, facilitating referrals and supplying medicine, medical equipment, incentive payments and other supplies – in line with the minimum package of services for Yemen and incorporating COVID-19 response measures.

IOM will also build national and frontline health-care workers’ technical capacity through the provision of personal protective equipment (PPE) and field-level trainings, including on IPC, risk communication methods, screening, case definition, reporting and referrals. To address growing needs and support a robust national COVID-19 response, IOM will continue to improve disease surveillance systems, and expand IOM’s direct primary and secondary health-care service provision, providing access to life-saving health care for women, men, girls and boys, with referrals for complex cases. IOM will rehabilitate identified quarantine locations and provide necessary medical equipment and supplies. IOM will continue to operate health outreach teams along key migrant routes and in IDP hosting sites. Disease surveillance information will be regularly fed into the Health Cluster early warning system and local health system databases, including the reporting of suspected cases to rapid response teams (RRTs) for testing. IOM implements an integrated health and WASH response to enhance the impact of IOM’s preventative and curative response to cholera, COVID-19 and other disease outbreaks. The Organization oversees the provision of diarrhoeal treatment centres (DTCs) and oral rehydration centres (ORCs) at health facilities in key districts affected by cholera. Affected populations will also continue to receive MHPSS services through outreach teams and static health care facilities. MHPSS activities will focus on the capacity building of service providers, support for coordination mechanisms, and ensuring MHPSS mainstreaming. IOM will train health workers and primary health care providers on MHPSS and safe identification and referrals, and provide psychological first aid, in line with IOM’s Manual on Community-Based Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergencies and Displacement. Finally, IOM will work closely with partners and stakeholders to combat HIV/ AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria across the region, building further upon gains made in 2017-2019, as the principal receipt of the Global Fund Middle East Response grant in Yemen.

IOM seeks to improve the living conditions of IDPs by restoring access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene services through WASH interventions. IOM’s WASH solutions are immediate, scalable, appropriate and sustainable, with the overall aim of reducing morbidity and mortality rates and the spread of water-borne diseases. The Organization’s interventions ensure that the most vulnerable displaced and disaster-affected populations have increased, equal and sustained access to safe and appropriate water, sanitation services and hygiene promotion. IOM implements a combination of first and second-line WASH interventions across the country to respond to the immediate and life-saving needs of affected populations and to ensure that access to safe water and sanitation in conflict-affected communities is maintained beyond the crisis through sustainable interventions. First-line interventions include hygiene promotion campaigns, hygiene kit distributions, hand washing facilities, water trucking, rapid rehabilitation of water infrastructures and rapid vector control activities. Interventions are adapted to the needs of beneficiaries and implemented in response to gaps in areas where the population is affected by emergencies (displaced populations, epidemiological alerts, populations affected by natural hazards, host communities and other affected populations). Activities will be prioritized and coordinated based on IOM health epidemiological analyses and IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) reports as well as site information sourced from IOM CCCM teams. Hygiene promotion campaigns will include COVID-19 prevention, focusing on at-risk communities and tailored to the needs and vulnerabilities of IDPs and host communities throughout Yemen. IOM will also support the development of protocols for handwashing and waste disposal that are fit-for-purpose for the needs of the IDP community throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Understanding the importance of the availability of adequate WASH services to prevent and respond to COVID-19, IOM will scale up daily water trucking activities, increase household safe water storage capacity and reinforce chlorine quality control tests as well as disinfection and sanitation activities. These activities will be extended to IOM-managed health facilities, and all WASH activities, particularly hygiene promotion and trainings, will be carried out in line with physical distancing guidelines, avoiding close contact and crowds. Where possible, IOM will use social media, radio, TV and other communication channels to disseminate messaging. As part of second-line response activities, IOM supports the establishment of sustainable and environmentally safe WASH solutions at the community level. This includes the construction, rehabilitation and expansion of water and waste management systems in communities hosting displaced populations, as well as the establishment and maintenance of sanitation infrastructure in displacement sites.

Operating across 10 governorates, IOM’s S-NFI teams contribute to an effective and coordinated preparedness, emergency and recovery response in Yemen. IOM’s assistance will include the provision of NFI kits, emergency shelter kits (ESK), shelter/collective centre rehabilitation and upgrades, winterization assistance and transitional shelter solutions for displaced people residing in collective centres, makeshift shelters and informal settlements as well as to host community members. ESK and NFI kit distributions are a key component of IOM’s first line emergency response to new emergencies and serve to meet urgent gaps identified by IOM field teams, in close coordination with the national and sub-national S-NFI Cluster partners. Activities will enable a rapid response to the immediate needs of newly displaced individuals across the country, ensuring that families receive critical household items and emergency shelter solutions. Transitional shelter construction and collective centre rehabilitation activities will specifically focus on IOM’s second line emergency response to the shelter needs of families displaced for more than three to six months. Affected families will be provided with transitional shelter assistance with the aim of establishing safe, dignified and sustainable shelter solutions in secure settlements. The design of transitional shelters has been determined according to Cluster guidance and beneficiary preferences, and with a view to promote housing, land and property rights throughout the response. Where possible and appropriate, IOM will consider the use of cash assistance to provide people with purchasing flexibility while supporting local markets. Additionally, where access is a challenge, IOM will apply remote and/or third-party monitoring schemes and contribute to local ownership by working through implementing partners. IOM S-NFI teams include technical experts who support with shelter design and construction, and activities are carried out in a participatory manner that also promotes inclusion of women in distribution and shelter design/ construction processes.

IOM’s direct assistance activities are complemented by emergency preparedness and response activities, in line with Yemen’s Inter-Agency Contingency Plan. In addition to operating rapid response teams in key affected governorates, IOM will continue to support the provision of coordinated, timely and relevant life-saving humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable populations across Yemen by facilitating the procurement, warehousing and transportation of WASH items (hygiene kits), and emergency shelter and NFI kits via the Common Pipeline. IOM’s common pipeline activities strengthen the humanitarian community’s capacity to provide emergency assistance to meet life-saving humanitarian needs as they arise, ensuring that critical life-saving assistance will continue to be provided to affected populations within 72 hours.

While the crisis in Yemen persists, pockets of the country are stabilizing where agriculture and industry continue despite insecurity in surrounding areas. Safeguarding these pockets of stability is a priority, and IOM is working with communities, local governance structures and key stakeholders to ensure that stable areas are supported to maintain gains made. In 2020, IOM will contribute to increasing household incomes and enhancing coping capacities to shocks using a community-centred approach that will strengthen social cohesion and ensure that community socio-economic priorities are addressed. To reduce the expected devastating impact of the COVID-19 outbreak in Yemen, urgent mitigation measures will need to be implemented in the form of facilitating behavioural change and a collaborative approach to deterring the spread of the virus. To build community coping capacity, IOM will provide support to local businesses (in manufacturing PPEs in line with global standards, for example), and provide targeted support that allows vulnerable displaced communities to access goods and services during this critical time, when livelihoods are challenged. To contribute to durable solutions in alignment with the Progressive Resolution of Displacement Situations, IOM will provide vocational training, small businesses grants, cash for work and other livelihood initiatives to increase access to capital and diversify livelihoods based on local market demands. To further increase host communities’ absorption capacity of IDPs and alleviate competition for limited resources and services, IOM will develop infrastructure and community assets for displacement affected communities. Depending on identified needs, these may include infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, WASH systems, connecting roads and local markets. Activities will integrate, where feasible, psychosocial support initiatives, and complementary initiatives will be carried out that empower women, unemployed youth, IDPs and other groups whose access to services, social protection systems and employment opportunities are limited. To further mitigate inter-group tensions and local conflicts, IOM will build conflict resolution capacities of local community members and groups. A component of IOM’s strategy in this regard includes addressing community level issues around water scarcity in Yemen. IOM works with communities to rehabilitate water infrastructure, resolve conflicts around water distribution and management and build capacities of local level institutions and committees on water management, ensuring the inclusion of women as agents of change. Public service improvement activities will be integrated into IOM’s health programme in Yemen, under which damaged health facilities are rehabilitated, the capacities of national bodies in health management are strengthened (at the governorate and district levels), and health-care workers receive regular training to improve the health system’s resilience to shocks. Interventions will also be closely linked to IOM’s WASH programme, to improve sustainable access to water for household and industrial consumption. Activities will be implemented through building the capacities of local authorities and public service providers to sustain services in the long run. Infrastructure development and service improvement projects will be complemented with training and support towards the development of internal systems, public strategies and development plans.

IOM Yemen's Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) functions through an expanding network of governorate-level focal points, enumerators and data entry clerks. Led by information management professionals in-country, the DTM team engages in various data collection, data processing, reporting and dissemination activities, targeting mobile populations including IDPs, returnees (IDP and Yemeni migrants) and migrant arrivals. IOM DTM produces reports, datasets and maps on displacement trends in Yemen, for the general public, national authorities, humanitarian and development actors, and donors. IOM DTM tracks movements in and out of Yemen at key flow monitoring points to help inform protection and humanitarian response to migrants as well as monitor migration trends on a monthly basis.

IOM disseminates multi-layered information on the mobility, locations (villages or neighbourhoods), conditions of displacement, vulnerabilities and needs of displaced populations – host communities as well as mobile populations – mainly through mobility tracking, flow monitoring and in-depth assessments. IOM Area Assessments and Rapid Displacement Tracking (RDT) provide regular information on the displacement situation. Flow Monitoring provides key insights into the analysis of overall migration trends in Yemen by monitoring incoming and outgoing flows at pre-identified locations with high migrant activity, known as flow monitoring points (FMPs). In-depth assessments, including the Multi-Cluster Location Assessment (MCLA), CCCM Camp profiles/ site assessments, and ad hoc assessments serve as an evidence base for humanitarian response activities, and provide baselines for Yemen’s Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO) and the Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP). I

n 2020, IOM will establish two new FMPs (in addition to six existing FMPs) across Yemen’s southern coast and borders with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and track the internal routes migrants are using to cross Yemen to reach their final destinations. IOM will continue to enhance the functionality of its DTM tools, such as the quarterly Area Assessment and the RDT. This will further contribute to an accountable and strategic response among humanitarian partners in Yemen and provide timely information on displacement situations to facilitate early action, risk reduction and disaster response. On COVID-19, existing resources and tools will be expanded to report on risk mitigation measures and location level issues (e.g. internal movement restrictions) arising as a result of COVID-19. All relevant data collected will be shared with partners to inform overall COVID-19 planning and response activities.

IOM in Yemen mainstreams disaster risk reduction in its emergency and early recovery response, with activities focused on building the capacity of national disaster response institutions, promoting sustainable livelihoods, addressing land and property issues, and strengthening health-care systems. IOM emergency interventions provide access to income-generating opportunities and revitalize available markets where possible, to further reduce risk and build community resilience to shocks. IOM’s displacement site planning and community infrastructure rehabilitation activities are based on environmental and hazard exposure assessments, and seek to apply flood mitigation measures, waste management and water conservation, etc. Through prepositioning activities, carried out by IOM on behalf of the S-NFI, WASH and Health Clusters, IOM is strengthening the humanitarian community’s capacity and preparedness to provide emergency assistance, ensuring that critical life-saving assistance is provided to affected populations within 72 hours of an emergency or crisis. The involvement of communities on disaster risk reduction practices is central across IOM programming.